


The Bits in Between

by Mutha_fkn_Penguins



Series: The Alkwin Chronicles [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), NCIS, Sherlock (TV), Supernatural
Genre: In between fluff and info
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 22:04:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9348455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mutha_fkn_Penguins/pseuds/Mutha_fkn_Penguins
Summary: This is what some would call "Filler Episodes" they have some important bits from babies being born to whole new government departments being created. Some of it action some of it not. Some of it fluffy some of it not. Did I mention there was a wedding?





	1. IBSD and How it Came to Be

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER this is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their prospective copyright holders.

"Sherlock?"

"Bird."

"Why am I here?"

"Yes, why are you two here?" Sally appeared at the front of the hallway to Lestrade's office.

"We need to talk to Lestrade about something."

"We do?" Meredith raised her eyebrow.

"Yes. We do." Sherlock's voice was monotone and sounded almost bored with the current conversation, as always.

"Oh right! The um... the thing we're doing... Right... That's today?"

The response simply raised Sally's suspicions higher. "He didn't say you were coming. He's in a meeting right now and doesn't have ti-"

"He knows we're coming and the meeting is about us. Now move out of the way." Sherlock pushed past her, taking Meredith along by the hand. Sally reached out and grabbed Meredith's other arm and pulled her back, yanking hard so as to drag Sherlock out with her.

Sherlock turned to face Sally with a fire in his eyes she had never seen before. "Don't pull her around like that again, do you understand? You could have hurt her. We're here to see Lestrade not argue with you." He cornered her against the wall, hands balled into fists at his sides, his voice was a low growl that made Sally's blood run cold.

"You're not allowed in there! I don't care if you think it's about you two you should wait at least for me to tell him you're here to see him!" Sally yelled at the terrifying figure towering above her.

"Sherlock. She's right. Let her do her job." Meredith came up next to the man and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Sherlock ever so slightly, began to relax. "Besides, very little could hurt me. You know this." She gave him a small smile.

"Fine. Go tell Lestrade we're here." Sherlock took a step back from Sally. Upon receiving a stern look from Meredith he added, "Please."

Sally glanced between the two dumbfounded. She had never seen Sherlock worried about anyone, nor seen anyone truly affect the man enough to get him to say please. Who really was this woman? Sally turned away from the two and walked towards Lestrade's office. She knocked twice on the door and entered at the sound of the DI's voice calling her in.

"What is it Sally?"

"Frea-Sherlock," she stopped herself remembering Meredith's threat. "and Ms. Alkwin are here to see you. Holmes insists you know he's coming and that your meeting is abo-"

"About them, yes it is. Let them in." Lestrade sighed and stood from his seat. While Sally ran out to fetch the two, he straightened out his desk. "Are you going to stay behind the door Mycroft? Would you rather my chair?"

"It's quite alright."

Sherlock barged into the room in his typical dramatic fashion followed closely by Meredith and Sally.

"Hello brother." Mycroft's voice came up from behind them as the door snapped shut. "Ms. Donavan, if you may please wait outside, as this is far above your current security clearance."

"Above m- and it's alright for these two to stay? They're civilians!"

"Oh darling I'm far more than just a civilian, but you know that already, don't you?" Meredith's voice was a low sultry hum, as always, but to Sally it was always far more frightening when accompanied with her bright blue eyes, piercing into the soul. Sally stood her ground. No matter how intimidating the three before her were she would only do as Lestrade said. "She's scared, yet she stays. Bravery at its finest, don't you think Mycroft?" She seemed to be hinting something.

"Bravery is simply a far kinder word for stupidity." Mycroft's voice was cold and dark. Sally began to reply but was cut off by Meredith.

"Ignore Mycroft. He only calls it that because he's forced to sit behind a desk all day. Bravery is one of the many things I value in humankind. They hold on to hope when there is none." Meredith turned away from the two and walked over to sit in a chair next to where Sherlock stood. Sally saw him stand behind her and place a hand on her shoulder. His face watching his brother carefully, ready to rebuttal any response he sent her way.

_What was it with these three? They act like they know the secrets of the universe, like the secrets alone could kill a person where they stood._

"Oh, but my secret can, Sally, not just that it can wipe a person from the pages of history. Rearrange it to my favor, rewrite what has been set in stone." She gave her a small smile.

_How did she...?_

"One day perhaps, I'll tell you. You have courage and maybe one day we may add you to our little meetings, but not today. We have matters to discuss you should do as we asked and leave, please."

Sally gave Lestrade a confused look, to which he just sighed and gestured her to leave. She turned and walked out.

"She's rather intelligent Sherlock, if you treated her like a human being you might just get along with someone on the force other than Lestrade.

"I lost any form of respect for her when she slept with someone as dim as Anderson. Poor decision on her part. You can tell she regrets it."

"Yes, well that's not what we're here for is it. Shall we Mycroft? I'd like to get this done before dinner."

"Very well." Mycroft made his way to the desk and opened the brief case he had been holding. He pulled out two files and placed them in front of his brother and Meredith. "You both know why your here this is all simply to make it official. As the first members of International Bureau of Supernatural Defense or IBSD, all your records have been expunged, sign here." Both Sherlock and Meredith signed where told. "You have been granted licenses to kill within the bounds that it pertains to the field you work in. If found that you unnecessarily killed a civilian or person not related to anything in your field your names will be cut from the department and you will be tried for their murder at your own expense. You already gave your finger prints so I just need your signatures here." He shuffled more papers and had them sign and initial in several different places. "You have also been granted Diplomatic Immunity in several countries across the globe. Here is a list of them. I'll give you a moment to commit them to memory as you are not allowed to take the list with you. If found for a crime in any other country, you and you alone are held liable for the consequences of your actions." Mycroft stayed quiet as the two went through the list of countries. He glanced over at Lestrade who had been quietly watching. He had agreed to be the witness in order to keep this all quiet, there was no need for a full committee. "Done? Good. Here are several pages of the contract simply stating that you will indeed have your pick of missions and are able to work on a freelance basis as well, however you can not refuse missions categorized in Class A, or B. No matter how boring they may seem." He glared the last bit mainly at his brother but was also meant for Meredith. Sherlock merely rolled his eyes and agreed. "Sign here, here, here, and here. And finally, Ms. Alkwin, due to your current situation you are allotted a 8 month paid pregnancy leave to start at your request. You, my dear, sign here."

"Wait what?!" This was news to Lestrade. "You're pregnant?!"

"Yes Lestrade." She signed were Mycroft motioned. "Have been for five months now. Still not showing though." She looked up and smiled at him.

"You never felt like, I don't know, telling me before I sent you on a dangerous mission that could have potentially ended your life last week?"

"I was fine."

"No one understands your frustration more than I Lestrade but you and I both know how impossible it is to argue with her." Lestrade could hear the annoyance in Sherlock's voice.

"Carrying on. Sherlock. You will be granted a paid 6 month paternity leave so that you may assist her towards the end of the pregnancy and first few months of childhood. Sign here." Mycroft pointed to a line on his contract. "Lastly I will need both of you to sign here. This part simply states your benefits, pay and its possibilities of increase pending on how well you've done over a four year course. Benefits include coverage on medical expenses up to one million pounds a year for each of you as your work may lead to many injuries. Salary starts at £250,000 a year for Ms. Alkwin, due to experience, and £100,000 for you Sherlock, as you are still relatively new to the field."

"Damn."

"What?"

"Nothing Mycroft. It's just really good pay that's all." Lestrade gave the bird like man a nervous chuckle.

"Lastly," Mycroft continued, ignoring Lestrade's comment. "is all the fine print. What you are not allowed to do and what you are. You will be getting copies of this so just sign here." Mycroft took out two more files from the suitcase along with two badges with identification cards, one silver, which he handed to Sherlock, the other gold, which was handed to Meredith. Sherlock studied them closely. They were both identical, shaped like a shield as were most official badges. Two swords similar to the ones Meredith carried, were crossed on the front. A pair of wings were folded behind them, and stamped on top were the letters IBSD.

"I see the design was heavily influenced by a certain sword weilding woman." Sherlock glanced at his brother as he put his badge away in its holder and slid it all in his inside pocket.

"She is the reason we started this after all."

"Why are they different colors?... Oh I'm the team leader? Interesting." She turned giving Sherlock a mischievous grin.

"Ms. Alkwin. Please refrain from reading my mind."

"I didn't"  
"She didn't."

Sherlock and Meredith twin spoke and turned to face Mycroft and Lestrade. A smile played on Meredith's lips. "Are we done? Free to go? Or do you already have something for us?"

"Not yet. I must get all this in proper order over at Downing. You two however, may go. I'll send word with the first assignment within the day." Mycroft began collecting all the documents and lining them up along his side of the desk. As Sherlock opened the door for Meredith she stopped and turned back to Mycroft and Lestrade, who were both signing the files and stamping them. "Yes Ms. Alkwin?"

"RSVP's from the both of you. I'll need them by tomorrow along with your plus ones. The wedding is only two weeks away, I'd rather you not leave it till last minute."

"Wedding?" Sally's voice piped up from behind them. "You're marrying this one?" She turned to Sherlock a smile on her lips. He was about to make a snide comment when she cut him off. "No matter how big of an ass you are Holmes, everyone deserves to be happy. Am I surprised you managed to find someone? Absolutely, but I'm glad you did. Maybe she'll keep you from going on a murderous rampage just because you're bored." She chuckled quietly and pushed past them both to talk to Lestrade.

Meredith took Sherlock's hand gently pulled him out of the room.


	2. A Vow Everlasting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER This is a not for profit work of fiction all characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

It was the big day! John was so excited for his best friend. Sherlock had been his best man at his wedding and now John gets to be Sherlock's. He would've started whistling a happy tune if it weren't for the blasted headache he still had from the night before. Although admittedly the stag party wasn't much of anything it still took its toll on John. _I'm not young enough for so much drink anymore._ He finished tying his bow tie and looked at himself in the mirror. Meredith had obviously chosen deepset blues and shimmering gold as the main color scheme and so John admired the dark blue hues in the suit that only came out in certain angles of light. The otherwise black suit was a handsome three button coat and white shirt. _Still looking good John_.

He walked out of his old room to the sitting area of 221B and waited quietly for Sherlock to finish. Ten minutes had passed and there wasn't a sound in Sherlock's bedroom. They needed to get to the venue before 4 o'clock and it was already 2:30. They should've left by now.

John walked up to Sherlock's door and knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again. A little harder this time.

Nothing.

John sighed. "Sherlock! Are you ready?!"

"No."

"Sherlock I hope you're decent. I'm coming in." John pushed the door open to find Sherlock sitting on the edge of the bed. Ready.

His three piece suit looked like something the Duke would be jealous of. His hair was slicked back with care giving his features a more defined look. The fit to the suit was perfect not a centimeter off. The blues were slightly more visible than they were in Johns. Sherlock's bow tie had a light gold pattern all throughout that matched the waistcoat and cufflinks. Sherlock looked bloody amazing. "Why'd you say you weren't ready?"

"Because I'm not."

"Sherlock what's wrong? We need to be there soon!"

"I'm. Not. Ready."

"Fine. Sherlock what are you missing? What still needs to be done?"

"No everything is fine. IM not ready!" Sherlock was getting frustrated. It finally dawned on John exactly what Sherlock meant.

"Sherlock you'll do fine. Everything will go just right."

"That's the problem everything has been so smooth and easy with her it makes me feel like this is some elaborate hoax. Or I'm drugged out of my mind. Again."

"You're not." Of all people he never expected Sherlock to get cold feet. But. It was Sherlock, feelings and emotions weren't exactly his forte. "You're just a bit scared. Your getting cold feet and it's all right. Look at how you're life is going! You're getting married to a, pardon my frankness, bloody stunning woman. She's kind, rivals your smarts, fiercely loyal to you. Most importantly she carries your child. This woman is willing to be with you for quite literally, all eternity. She's perfect for you!"

"That's the problem."

John was slightly taken aback. "I. I don't understand."

"She may be perfect in every sense for me. But what am I to her?"

"Sherlo-"

"I'm not ready. Not yet. But you are right for once we should get going."

"I-" John didn't finish his statement before Sherlock was out the door and down the steps. "Now wait one moment!" John chased after him closing the door behind them. "Sherlock!"

"Yes John?"

"When did- wher- you are just as perfect for her as she if for you! I don't know why suddenly this has become a concern for you but it has to stop." John followed Sherlock into the car that Mycroft had arranged for them. The moment the door shut the car took off at a frightening speed. This, however, did not deter John from his duty as best man and best friend. "I promise you, the moment you see her walking down that aisle you'll forget all your fears, and your mind'll go blank. You'll only be able to focus on her no matter what kind of super computer you think your brain is, she will be all you see. You'll remember everything about her. I don't know why but I promise, that is what'll happen. After that you won't question it anymore." John reached out and straightened Sherlock's bow tie. He took out the blue and gold handkerchief Sherlock had hastily stuffed in his front pocket, folded it properly to match his owns fold and placed it back in his front pocket.

All the while Sherlock watched his friend fuss over him. Was he right? For once this was a subject John was more experienced in. He was skeptical, he felt like Yvette could do so much more with her life. She used to be royalty apparently, and for some reason she had chosen him.  
___________________

  
"I wonder where John and-"

"Ma'am?" A small voice piped up behind Meredith. "We'll be starting in three minutes." The young assistant to the wedding planner had walked away before Meredith had a chance to tell her where she could stuff those three minutes.

"Meredith." Mary's tone had a small warning to it. Meredith sighed. This had turned out to be far more annoying than initially expected.

"If the Kara woman would stop scheduling my every breath, and sending her minion to remind me, I wouldn't be so on edge." Meredith raised her chin in childish defiance. Mary laughed.

"That's the baby talking not you. I know you're far more patient than that."

"I'm hungry."

"The baby is hungry. I have snacks set up for after the ceremony. Honestly, five months in and I'd barely even call it showing. I would say I'm jealous but I know how long you have to carry, other wise I'd say you'd be half way done." Mary continued chattering away about this and that. Just then John arrived along with Mycroft, Lestrade, Molly and Anthea.

"Good lord Meredith you look absolutely gorgeous!" Lestrade came up to her and gave her a small hug.

"Thank you Greg. Look quite sharp yourself." Meredith chuckled as she remembered the first time she had met the detective inspector. He never was a good flirt.

"I wish there were words to describe how I feel." A voice behind them quietly announced its presence. The Doctor stood at the door way, tears threatened to escape his eyes. He walked up to his daughter and placed a gentle hand on her cheek. "You look so much like your mother. Which is saying something for Time Lords." He managed to chuckle lightly at his words.

"Father. I wis-"

"Places folks." The assistant that Meredith never cared to remember her name, came up behind them and started pointing where to stand.

"Interrupt me again and I swear to you they will never fi-"

"Dear it's alright. We can talk later. Focus. You're about to get married." The Doctor pulled Meredith back to the rear of the group. The lady's took their positions on the right and the gentlemen on the left. Meredith had not felt nervous once all day, but as the music started, that all changed. She took a big gulp of air as her knees started to shake.

_ Nervous Little one? _

_Not likely. Possibly just hungry?_

_ You can't hide from me love. You're scared. Just remember all your etiquette training and you'll be fine. Chin parallel with the ground. And no more than half a meter steps. Take it slow and breathe. You'll be fine. _

_Thank you Andrela._

_ I will always be here Little One. _

The doors flew open.  
______________________

Sherlock watched as the progression started. The door flew open letting in the bridal party. There was a soft piano playing to accompany their arrival. Sherlock looked around taking in the decorations of the room. The seating was facing a wall entirely composed of glass, letting the snow covered pine forest be the backdrop for the ceremony and reception. Dark blue ribbons were draped along the ceiling with small sparkle lights hanging from here and there giving the impression of the night sky. The chandeliers hung low with a dim light to set a mood. The archway where they would soon stand as husband and wife, was a delicate piece of woodwork that had Dean's name written all over it. Castiel came up next to him. How fitting that an actual angel of the Lord would be the one to preform the wedding.

The party had all taken their places. Sherlock expected the typical cliché wedding march to start playing, but it didn't. To his surprise, a familiar tune began to play on the violin. It played subtly with lower notes. He looked up in time to see the doors open.

In that moment, everything he knew went blank. His own mind palace kicked him out and shut the door. Meredith was the only light that kept the unknown darkness at bay. John was right. In that split second all his doubts dissolved away. Why had he been worried in the first place? He watched his fiancée walk down the aisle to the very song he had composed for her when he first met her. He studied her every movement, every detail. Her dress complimented her figure perfectly. The soft flow of the fabric wisped about as she practically glided towards him. The edges of the dress turned into a light gold. Her train was the kind that attached to her shoulders and draped evenly over her wings, half hiding them. Her sleeves had a row of pearl buttons down to her wrist where the lace looped onto her middle finger. The white lace was beautiful on her olive skin. Making her glow even more.

He couldn't believe it. John was right. In that moment his mind palace opened the doors and out poured all of his knowledge of her. Her favorite color is blue, sometimes purple. She hates the water. She doesn't really know how to swim well. She thinks pigs are adorable. She likes pickles. Dill in particular. She puts hot sauce on her popcorn. She loves to sing. Hates the opera. She thinks the cinema is a boring date. Adores cats. Loves dogs. Her right wing is slightly higher than her left. The most useless information and yet it was all in the box he treasured the most. She used to be a member of the Russian Imperial Court. The French Royal Court. The Spanish Court. Even on her home planet she was destined to lead. She was royalty, and the fierceness of her bright blue eyes said it all. Beautiful was not the word to describe her. He swallowed hard. He wanted to say all these things about her. How he felt. How he would cherish her everyday. How he would always provide and always protect.

They finally arrived to the podium. Sherlock realized he had shed a tear. He quickly wiped it away and regained his composure, which was immediately lost when Meredith chuckled. The Doctor took out a long blue ribbon and wrapped it gently around his daughters left hand. Sherlock took the other end and wrapped it around his. At this the Doctor gave his daughter one last peck on the cheek and went to sit down beside Sherlock's mother, who was crying quiet tears of joy.

"Everyone please be seated." Castiel paused at the sound of shuffling for seats. "Let us begin. Today we come together to join two souls into matrimony. These two souls have found each other weary and tired of the burdens the world leaves. Together they learned that sharing the load helped lighten them, both in spirit and mind. Brought together by the happiness they felt in each other they have chosen one another as their missing piece. This day marks the occasion of a marriage not only forged by destiny but by love and devotion." Castiel walked closer to the two and gestured to the ribbon in their hands. "This ribbon signifies the strand of time that you two have chosen to spend together for all eternity. When you pull against each other the fabric grows taunt and stiff causing a strain on your hands. When you leave it far too loose, it's delicate nature shows as it fall off your hand with ease. Together you must find a balance to keep each other strong but not cause too much burden to the other. Meredith, please say your vows." Cas took a black band from Mary and placed it on the podium in front of Meredith.

"Sherlock." Her smooth voice sent a shiver down his back, but he did not tear his eyes from her. "I promise to always stand at your side, to never leave or let you be alone in this world. I promise the entirety of heart and devotion, your path will never be somber for I shall be your light in the darkness. I will cherish our every moment. Even when the sky's have faded and the world grows grey I will show you the color yet left in the world. You have protected me, cherished me and loved me. I vow to do the same in return for as long as I live." A light tear shed from her eye leaving behind a faint gold trail in its wake. With her right hand she picked up the his ring and slid it onto his ring finger still lightly wrapped in the ribbon. "Please take this ring, as a symbol of my everlasting love and fidelity."

"I do." Sherlock reached over and wiped the tear from her face. A gentle smile teased the corners of his mouth.

"Sherlock, please say your vows." Castiel took a delicate silver band from John and placed it on the podium in front of Sherlock.

"Meredith." Sherlock took a deep breath and locked eyes with the royal blue ones in front of him. "I had something written out but it will never do justice to you. You have taken the cold unfeeling Sherlock and made him human. You have shown me how wonderful the world can be when it is shared with someone just as amazing. Darling, I vow from this day forward to protect you from the very darkness of which you cast away. I vow to never leave you, to never take you for granted and to never forget the reason why we are together. I love you will all of my heart, the one I never knew I had, until I met you." Sherlock picked up the small band in front of him with his right hand and slid it onto her finger, also still wrapped in the ribbon. "Please take this ring as a symbol of my everlasting love and fidelity."

"I do."


	3. The Upper Hand You Cannot Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER : This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

**Part II**

"Sherlock. I'm so proud of you!"

"Thank you mother."

"Meredith dear I'm so happy to have you be a part of the family! When do you two plan on having children?"

"Mother!"

"Sometime next year." With the grace and elegance befitting a queen Meredith kindly smiled and took the tactless comment in stride. Sherlock sighed. Nothing ever stopped his mother from saying what was on her mind. "Eager to be a grandmother I suppose?" She sweetly responded as she took her now mother-in-laws hand and shook it gently.

"Oh very. I'm not getting younger and Mycroft won't ever listen to me." The woman chuckled and made her way back over to her chair.

"Mr. and Mrs. Holmes. Well now, that's not something I expected to hear but I am happy for you both."

"Thank you." Meredith smiled sweetly once again as the man left. "Who was that?"

"Guest of Mycroft. Don't know him."

"Very well." She whispered back. "How much longer? I grow weary of this. Introductions like these are far too much effort, too many backhanded compliments to pretend I didn't hear." She sighed quietly showing her exhaustion.

"Just a few more and we can call an end to it."

"Sherlock, Meredith. I just wanted to pop by and say congratulations. I appreciate the invitation but I can't stay." Sally walked up to them. "I'm sure you can understand" she gave them a look of mild discomfort. She knew they didn't like her very much. That's why she was confused they had invited her at all even if it was last minute.

"Sally you are a breath of fresh air compared to the last five we spoke to." Meredith reached out and hugged Sally who stayed rigid. "I understand if you feel uncomfortable, but you are more than welcome to stay." She pulled away from the light embrace. "We did invite you because we wanted you here, not any other ulterior reason. Thank you for your thoughts." Meredith bowed her head lightly in gratitude.

Sally watched them both. They really were odd. She was like she stepped out of a castle painting and he looked like a dark and brooding Duke of some teenage novel. "You two really are perfect for each other." She smiled and waved her good byes to them.

Meredith was distracted by waving she didn't hear the next person come up.

"You gonna say Hi Probie? Or you want me to?" A thick Western accent brought her attention back.

"I thought hell would freeze over before I saw either of you in London." Meredith stepped up and hugged the man who had remained silent. "How have you been Gibbs?"

"Hangin in there." Gibbs returned the hug. "Been a while."

"That it has." Meredith chuckled and turned to the other man. "And the ever elusive Mike Franks."

"Hello Peaches. How'ya been?" The man who's raspy voice belonged to, smiled wide.

"Oh, it's been well. Just got married."

Mike laughed. "I saw that! Who's the unlucky guy?" Meredith gently smacked Mike's shoulder.

"Sherlock, this is Mike Franks and Jethro Gibbs, they were my main Point of Contacts between NIS and I in the states. We grew to be quite the trio." Sherlock shook both the gentlemen's hands and nodded his hello.

"Although technically you and I met in Iraq before that." Gibbs smiled his rare smile. "We'll see ya out there Peaches."

"Peaches?"

"I honestly do not understand people's fascination with giving me nicknames."

"Peaches?"

"We visited a manor in Georgia and I may have eaten too many peaches and fell ill for days."

Sherlock chuckled. They apologized to the remaining people in line and made their way to the drawing room just off the ballroom. Time to relax a bit while the guests prepared themselves for their meal.  
_________________

The remainder of the night flew by. They danced the night away and spectacularly so. Sherlock had never had a dancing partner quite so gifted and Meredith hadn't dance as such in decades. All the guests enjoyed themselves and continued to wish the best to the new couple. John gave a proper speech as best man and Mary did her best as she and Meredith had only recently become good friends.

Dean had drank and eaten his full, settling to watch from next to Cas, as Sam was approached by different girls at the wedding. Dean constantly encouraged him to go out and dance. Lestrade and Molly disappeared for a short while before coming back to dance the remainder of the night away, confirming everyone's suspicions. Mycroft left early on important business. Sherlock had mentioned it was "most likely to run away from mother's probing questions."

As the night began to come to a close, guests said their final wishes and leave a few at a time. The party began to dwindle down to a handful of people. The newlyweds stood at the far end of the ballroom watching the snow fall from out the glass curtain wall.

"Everyone is leaving Bird."

"I know. Let's watch the snow just a little while longer."

Sherlock studied Yvette's features as they bathed in the moonlight. Shadows of snowflakes would drift lazily by. She was so beautiful, and she was all his.

"It's a pretty view." Gibbs deep voice broke the silence ripping both of them back to reality.

"Yes it is." Sherlock reluctantly tore his eyes from his wife, who took no notice to his staring.

"Hello Gibbs, did you enjoy yourselves?"

"Yeah thanks for the invite. I'm really happy for you. For you both." He reached out to shake Sherlock's hand.

"We were wantin' to wait till another day to talk to you two but I think there's been a mishap in communication, so we have to do it now." Mike came up behind Gibbs, with his typical cigar in hand, he gestured over to the drawing room they were in before. Sherlock and Meredith followed them in.

"Hello Meredith." A thin bird like woman with flaming red hair stood in the middle of the room. Four men in black suits stood at each entrance as security detail.

"Seems a bit excessive." Meredith stated plainly. She didn't know this woman and she didn't like being cornered. Sherlock felt her wings tremble with anticipation, and shared the feeling as he heard the click of the door behind them.

"I do apologize for this, there was an attempt on my life recently and we have to take extreme precautions. Something came up and we had to move this meeting up much sooner than expected." The woman smiled warmly but there was something in that smile that Meredith didn't completely trust. An ulterior motive behind this meeting.

"I beg your pardon but I believe we haven't been properly introduced." Meredith was growing impatient with the impropriety of this meeting. The stranger watched Meredith carefully as if testing her, which led to a somewhat awkward silence. She waited for the woman to introduce herself first as etiquette demands. Centuries of court manners never truly leave you.

"Yes, sorry about that. My name is Jenny Shepherd. I am the new Director of NCIS." She smiled again and walked up to Meredith to shake her hand, which Meredith and Sherlock both took. "Congratulations on your marriage. I actually came today to offer a compromise between our two departments. I understand that your people are sanctioned for international investigations concerning an, interesting, array of subjects. Am I correct?"

"Yes." Sherlock let Meredith do the talking. Negotiations were in her repertoire not his. In the meanwhile he already knew most of this woman's life story. Tragic really.

"And am I to understand that you in essence have no limit to what you can do, due to the granted immunity, be it kill if necessary?"

"Yes."

"Well that just won't do." Shepherd gave them a condescending smile, which did not settle well with them.

"Curious, I was under the impression that such a small branch of government had absolutely no say in the matter." Meredith lightly clasped her hands and stood tall, at five nine with heels, she towerd over this woman. Jenny shrank for a mere second away from Meredith, her regal air being too daunting, she composed herself and listened quietly. "As admirable as your organization is, I see no reason why your disapproval would lay any impact on our matters. Foreign soil or not, our department is not only sanctioned by your government as a whole but it is encouraged and backed by an unprecedented amount of approval from the UN. All in efforts to eliminate the, interesting targets. So forgive me but, quite frankly why should I care?"

"Jurisdiction. Should your path ever cross ours, we will be taking the lead on every case. You would still do what you need to do, but you will do it our way." Jenny countered Meredith's question with a smug smile of her own.

"Wait are we havin' a turf war before we even have to deal with each other?" Mike was not expecting this.

"She thinks that if we agree to her little 'compromise' before our next mission your organization will be able to take the lead." Sherlock's eyes narrowed at the woman before them. Jenny tried to keep a straight face at that statement. She hadn't expected them to figure it out, at least not this quickly.

"Yes well that won't be happening, regardless." Meredith waved away Shepherd's compromise like old news. "We want no part of this." She turned away from them and made her way towards the door.

"It would benefit us both. You would have our resources at your disposal." Sherlock noticed the panic that had started to show in her voice, she was desperate to make this work. Which Meredith took full advantage of. She turned around and slowly walked up to Shepherd.

"And why, may I ask, do you believe that would convince me?" Meredith had grown tired of this. Her voice was icy and impatient. She wanted to go back out and enjoy the remainder of her wedding. "I do not need to keep a paper trail nice and neat. All my requirements are, is to provide proof that the threat has been eliminated. Sometimes that may require a more, severe action... other times it won't."

Jenny stood still at a loss of words.

"You are still very young Ms. Shepherd, you have much to learn. Today will be your first day in class. Pay attention." Her wings snapped out and began to tremble slightly in a display of authority, the guards tensed and readied their hands on their weapons. "Lesson one, never attempt negotiations without knowing everything of the other party. Lesson two, always have the upper hand when trying to form a 'compromise'. Congratulations you failed both lessons and tension between NCIS and IBSD have grown before we have even crossed paths. This marks the end of our conversation, and we take our leave. We have guests to attend to." Meredith slid her wings back beneath her train, she turned to leave only to find her path blocked by one of Shepherd's security guards.

"If you don't remove yourself from my sight I will be forced to do it for you." The gold snapped across her pupils and glowed fiercely in the dimly lit room. The man stepped aside to let her through.

"If you are to protect us from the evil at night, who is to protect us from you?" Jenny called out behind her. This caused Meredith to stop in her tracks. Once again she found herself towering in front of Jenny, as she warped in front of her wings wide open and touching either side of the room. Her bright gold eyes reflected the fire raging inside her. All the guards drew their guns and pointed them directly at Meredith.

"You best watch your tongue Shepherd. A smart mouth like that could end you in a world of trouble." Her voice reverberated and echoed, as two voices spoke as one. "We understand your hesitation and assure you that unless you find yourself practicing witchcraft and torturing people, you will have nothing to fear. If you need protection from us than only Death himself can stop us from getting to you. Must I remind you that I have been doing this for 1500 years? And with or without government sanction I would continue to, regardless."

Meredith's blue eyes faded back. She turned and walked out the door. In no mood for anything. Sherlock followed her out but not before stopping at the door. "My wife has lived for centuries on this earth. To question her motives would be like questioning a god. I am not saying she is one. She's made her fair share of mistakes, however to believe she would ever do anything to harm an innocent life would be foolish. I suggest you tread carefully for now. Her patience is thin but she is reasonable and understanding. You came here for a compromise. We declined your offer but I shall give you mine. Should our paths meet, we work along side one another until a more distinctive line is drawn as to who will take the lead. Provided your people aren't all idiots as most the world seems to be."

Jenny thought about what Meredith had said. She was right she did not have the upper hand like she thought she had and she didn't fully understand how IBSD worked quite yet. This was the best she was going to get. "Sounds fair. We have reached an agreement?"

"For now. I am not the head of the department so I can not make it official. That decision falls to Meredith alone." With that Sherlock walked out of the room.

"Well you managed to piss her off. Good job." Mike took a long drag from his cigar.

"Jen. Why did we even have to do this?" Gibbs came up next to her and studied her carefully.

"I had to."

"Why?"

"I had my reasons. We'll talk about this later."

"You should have told me. I would've told you it was stupid idea."

"Excuse me Agent Gibbs. You forget your place!"

"No, Jen. You forget yours. You forget who you're friends are! I've seen what Meredith can do and trust me, director or not, you hold no power to what she is. Be careful Jen. Don't make enemies before you've made friends."

"What about Rule 16?"

"Meredith is one hand you can't break." Gibbs stared at her. Waiting for another rebuttal.

"Why do you defend her so much?"

"Because I watched her save an entire platoon of men, then she healed them all, and made sure they got back to base safely. Her first and foremost goal is to ensure the safety of those who have done nothing wrong. She's not an enemy, she's a partner. Rule number one Jen." Gibbs turned and walked away.

"Three months as Director and you think your unbreakable. I'm not opposed to a woman leading the show. Times have changed and I'm just an old man at a weddin', but she's right Jenny." Mike stood up to follow Gibbs out of the room.

"How so?" Jen was tired of hearing how she was wrong. Meredith looked no older than 28.

"You got alotta growin' to do."

"She not that much younger than me. Why is she right?"

"Jen, she's older 'an our country." Mike laughed as he walked away.

Jenny thought back to what Meredith had said before.

_"...need I remind you that I have been doing this for fifteen hundred years?..."_

_"You are still very young Ms. Shepherd..."_

Even Sherlock and Gibbs,

_"...my wife has lived for centuries on this earth..."_

_"...director or not, you hold no power to what she is..."_

Not possible. She knew she wasn't human but didn't expect this. Who exactly was this woman? She needed to get back. She and a lot of research to do.


	4. Sweet Tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

"Hello did you find everything you were looking for?"

"No."

"I'm sorry to hear that sir, what was it you needed?"

"Something that is no longer manufactured. In fact it hasn't for nearly 50 years.."

"...er.."

"It's alright not your fault." Sherlock watched the young lady at the shop scan the remainder of his items. A wide range of things varying in subjects from milk to crisps to an assortment of different coloring books.

"...uh, your total comes to £41.50." The clerk avoided Sherlock's gaze as he paid and left.

"Of all things she needs that specific brand of tea. And why on earth is it sweet?" Was the last thing she heard Sherlock mumble as he left.

___________________________

"Greg."

"Holy shit you did it."

"Did what, George?"

"Never mind......" Lestrade sat back down at his desk. "What is it Sherlock?"

"John is gone."

"Yes I know, on holiday with Mary and Annabelle."

"Do you have children?"

"I have a daughter, she lives with my ex wife why?" Lestrade looked up at Sherlock. Why suddenly take an interest in his personal life?

"When your ex-wife was carrying your daughter, did she crave ridiculous things?" There was a small mark of annoyance in Sherlock's voice.

"Yeah is Meredith at that point?"

"Yes! And it's infuriating!"

"Sherlock you have to be patient with her. I know it's annoying to have to get her things at all hours of the day AND night but it's only temp-"

"No I don't care about that! It's incredibly frustrating that I can't get what she wants. She doesn't really crave anything else just this one brand of sweet tea."

"What the hell is sweet tea?"

"It's an American drink. This brand belonged to a specific plantation owner in South Carolina. They no longer make it other than small batches and sold at the gift shop of a museum there. I have no way of getting it." Sherlock began to pace. It turned out Lestrade made a suitable substitute for the Skull.

"Can't you ask her friends from over there to get some?"

"I didn't want to mention them around her."

"Another falling out?"

"No she gets this insatiable need to go visit them but The Doctor said no more traveling. She's gotten too big for that."

"There's gotta be someone who ca-"

"That's it, Lestrade, that's it!" Sherlock bounded out the door of Lestrade's office leaving the man in complete silence. He sighed and got back to work. He couldn't help the smile on his face however, just thinking about how well Sherlock had things going.

________________________

_**VVVRRRRTTVVVRRRRTT** _

"Boss you're phone went off."

It was another late night at the office and another case closed. Tony stayed back to help Gibbs with some last minute reports. Gibbs put on his glasses and looked at his cellphone. It was a text. At this hour? He tried holding it out at different distances to try and make it easier to read.

"Tony!" Gibbs waved his phone at his senior agent. DiNozzo stood and walked over, taking the phone and began reading it out loud for the stubborn man.

_"Hello Agent Gibbs, I understand it is late there so I will make this brief. We met several months ago. I'm sure you remember Peaches and I. Since then we have found ourselves expecting and I have a small favor to ask. Please call me when you can. I know you don't like to text. -SH_ Who's this boss?" Gibbs stood up and took the phone back with a smile playing on his lips, which eventually broke into a light chuckle. He couldn't help it. Peaches was havin' a kid. Before anything else he had to tell Mike. He dialed the number quickly and waited for an answer.

_"Probie do you know what time it is? It's damn near two in the morning! Whaddya want?"_

"Peaches is havin' a kid Mike."

" _What_?"

" 'I shan't repeat myself.' " Gibbs quoted.

Tony watch the remainder of this exchange in fascination. First of all Gibbs said 'shan't' second someone is having a baby and Gibbs is acting like it's his future grandkid. He had to tell McGeek tomorrow.

"No he told me, he needed to ask me something... no I haven't called him yet I just thought you'd want to know... alright I'll let you know..." Gibbs ended the call only to dial another. He walked over to the window and watched the rain patter on the glass as the phone rang. At this point Gibbs was whispering, and Tony couldn't hear him anymore. So he sat down, annoyed at the lack of answers he was getting, but it was no different than any other time. He went back to work.   
______________________________

"Mornin Boss."

Gibbs nodded his good morning to McGee and took a sip of his coffee as the elevator doors shut.

"Whatcha got there boss?" McGee gestured at a bag Gibbs was holding.

"Tea."

"Tea?"

Gibbs nodded and took another sip.

"Why you got tea?"

Gibbs just stared at him as the doors opened.

"Right never mind." McGee walked out of the elevator followed by the ever stoic Gibbs.

"Morning Gibbs." Ziva was already there ready to start her first day as a probationary agent.

"Hey Boss you got a-uh a box on your desk from that SH two days ago."

"You snooped again DiNozzo?"

"N-no Boss no snooping! I had to sign for it since you weren't here!"

"US Post DiNozzo. You don't gotta sign" Gibbs walked right past them and to his desk. Where the box was waiting for him to open. Tony made a grimace at being caught on his lie. Gibbs took out his pocket knife to open the box by murderous stab as he usually does, but paused and opted to open it gently and carefully. All three agents watched carefully as Gibbs smiled after opening the box.

"Is that Jethro smiling?" Director Shepherd came up to the bull pen with a file on hand. "Care package from someone special?"

"Yeah it's from Peaches and her Husband," Jenny's smile faltered slightly at Gibbs' words, as the memory of humiliation was still fresh.

"Is it a Thank You gift? For the wedding?"

"HA! McGee pay up!" Tony turned to McGee immediately.

Gibbs closed the box without letting any one see, and simply stared at the Director waiting to hear what she needed.

"I have a case for you. It needs to be handled right away and with delicacy." Jenny handed a file to Gibbs. "Let me know if there's anything else you need." She turned and left back up to her office.

Gibbs slapped the file down on the desk and opened his box again. He took out a photo and tacked it next to his desk. Inside was a smaller box labeled for Mike, which he set aside, and an image of an ultrasound with the 'peanut', as it was labeled, circled. He put that in his drawer, there was a cigar and other little things that usually come with baby announcements that Gibbs really didn't care about although the colors chosen didn't reveal the baby's sex. Must be keeping it a surprise. All that remained in the box was a padded envelope with something inside. He tore it open and out slid a pair of thin glasses, very low profile, he put them on and found they were the perfect prescription.

_Hello Special Agent Gibbs,_

_I appreciate your assistance on this matter. Attached to this letter you will find a return label paid in full. I believe you know Meredith well enough to know she doesn't like to be an inconvenience to any one and when she mentioned the tea, I desperately needed to find a way to get her some. She insisted there was no need to do anything rash or to go out of my way, that she had just been craving it the past month._

_You do not know me very well Agent Gibbs, we only met the one time. However I am sure our paths will cross again. I am well aware she is like family to you, know that Meredith is my entire world and I will do what it takes to make her happy._

- _SH_

He sounded so archaic, he'd been locked up with her for a while it seemed. "Who's SH?" McGee spoke up from behind his computer. "I just got an email asking if you got the box."

Gibbs laughed "Yeah McGee tell him I did I'll send it back right away, and tell him I got her extra." Gibbs took out four green tin cans and placed them in the now empty box. He sealed it up tight and slapped the return label on the box. It was still early it might actually ship out today.

The team watched him as he thought about something for a moment then stood and walked over to the intern distributing the mail.

"What the heck I haven't seen Gibbs smile this much in ages!" Tony whispered to McGee. "Can you find out who this 'S.H.' is?"

"I already tried." McGee sat down and got to work trying to trace the email again. "I have no idea how he even got my email!"

**________________  
Several Days Later  
________________**

"Sherlock? What are you doing?" Meredith made her way to the kitchen slowly but determined. She was far too big for comfort. Sherlock hoped it was only a few days more. It was difficult for her to walk around at all, let alone go down the stairs and out the door. It was driving her mad with cabin fever. She wanted to fly or visit somewhere, but she never let on how annoyed she was. Sherlock had been trying so hard to help and keep her mind occupied. She wondered how bored he was a mind like his shouldn't be cooped up for too long.

"Making you tea."

"Sherlock you know I can't have caffeine."

"Different kind of tea." Sherlock turned around with a pitcher of sweet tea in his hands. He poured some into a glass with ice. He was thankful Gibbs had included instructions, or he would have served it hot and in a mug.

"You didn't...." Meredith narrowed her eyes at him. "You did didn't you?"

"Is it so wrong for a husband to provide for his wife?" Sherlock raised his eyebrows at her. He casually rolled the sleeves to his dress shirt up to his elbows. He knew she would pitch a fit, he saw it coming a mile away. "Besides. It was mostly a gift from Jethro and Mike."

Meredith's eyes softened at that. "Sherlock you really didn't have to." She reach over and gingerly placed her hbd on his cheek. She knew it was his idea.

"Yes I did." Sherlock handed her the glass with a straw. "Drink, Bird."

Meredith smiled and took the glass. "Thank you."

It took Meredith a week to finish the tea. Which didn't Surprise Sherlock one bit.


	5. Reminiscent Rocking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

Mrs. Hudson tried to lead a quiet life. Honestly she did try. Sherlock however saw to it that she would never have an easy day. Not that she really minded, having never had children of her own she had wondered what her life would be like if she had. Sherlock and John had gotten as close to surrogate sons as she'll ever get.

With every wild chase they ran off to, she would worry a little more each time. Knowing what danger lay in their path she prayed they would come home safe. But she would never tell Sherlock that. He'd try no push her away if he found out, and she didn't want that. There were times he broke her heart and other times where she saw through the cold gaze and felt that he did cared for her.

When the Americans had broken into her house a few years ago and shook her something fierce, the anger and hate she saw in Sherlock's eyes proved that he did feel some sentiment towards her. She was just worried that if anything were to happen to her, just how far off the deep end he'd go.

Then he faked his death, oh how her heart shattered. She rarely saw John after that too. Her boys. She couldn't stand being alone anymore. The silence was far too much too take, she had gotten used to the melancholy melodies from the violin or the stomping when he was bored. After Sherlock's "death" John collected his things and left for a while, she too decided to go on an extended holiday of her own. Unbeknownst to her who would be waiting for her upon her return.

For a short while things were back as they should've been, and it was wonderful again. Her boys upstairs, her occasional dalliance with the baker next door, even if was a cheating bastard, things were back to normal. Then John moved in with Mary, and they got married. Once again she found herself worrying for Sherlock. She thought about setting him up with someone, but then again not any girl would do. No, goodness no. Any nice girl would run away within a day, Sherlock would grow bored of her and run her off, but not before pointing out every last one of her flaws.

That was when she had the perfect idea. An old friend had moved back to London and had been looking for a flat. Granted they had met in the 80's but she was perfect! She was tall athletic and every kind of mystery shrouded in riddles, and beautiful to boot. That very day Mrs. Hudson had called her and invited her over for tea. They caught up on wild stories of their adventures. Meredith hadn't changed on bit, and of course she wouldn't. Mrs. Hudson knew everything about her, and she knew Meredith wouldn't resist a tall dark strapping man like Sherlock. She heard Sherlock start to get ready to leave upstairs when she offered Meredith a tour of 221C.

She hadn't realized how instant the connection would have been, or how strong the bond would be. As she sat in her rocking chair knitting a dark purple and black blanket just the right size for an infant, she looked back at Sherlock before he had met John or Meredith. How vastly different he was to who he is now. He's still dark and brooding, but Meredith brings out a kindness that he had locked away years ago. He grows soft and gentle when talks about her or their child. It's so comforting to see the man he was always destined to be. A hero, a fighter, a genius and a role he'd never thought he'd take, a father.

Mrs. Hudson finished the last stitches to the blanket. Purple was always Sherlock's favorite colors as was Meredith's, she hoped they would like the gifts she made. She folded the finished blanket neatly and added it to the bag of little hats she had also made the baby. She was so excited for them both. Meredith and Sherlock had come to her a few days ago and asked her to be the baby's godmother. She was so touched by the gesture, she cried as accepted the role. She was going to spoil this precious little creature until the very end. She placed the bag gingerly on the tea tray she had set up and made her way up stairs with some afternoon tea. Things were going wonderfully and she prayed it would stay this way for years to come. 


	6. A Happy Occasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders. 
> 
> *Also I have recently gotten really into FFXV. So I may take ... certain things from it, but none of this will have anything to do with the game.

"Lestrade this was painfully simple."

"I'm sorry, how was I supposed to know the killer was a 5' 4" blond acrobat just by staring at the crime scene! I'm not you!" Lestrade ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Sally was giving Sherlock a long hard glare. She hadn't called him a freak since the day Meredith confronted her, but that didn't mean she couldn't think it.

"Obviously. Either way, your killer is going to-" Sherlock's phone rang and stopped him. He quickly answered it. "Yes... WHAT?!...IM ON MY WAY NOW, WHERE IS SHE?!" Sherlock hung up and started running for a cab. Lestrade and Sally followed him afraid something might be wrong.

"Sherlock what is it?! What's wrong?" Lestrades words had no effect on the detective. He seemed to be at a complete loss. His eyes were wide and full of fear. Or was it anticipation? Sally had never seen him like this, it scared her to see him so frazzled and without his iron façade. Lestrade reached out and grabbed the man's shoulders. "Sherlock! What's wrong?!"

"It's Meredith!" Sherlock got in the cab and sped off. Lestrade got in his patrol car, accompanied by Sally and drove after him. They made their way back to 221B, Sherlock threw change at the cabbie and ran out in a panic, bounding up the stairs three at a time. The others close behind him, hands ready on their weapons, just in case.

"Darling! I'm here! Where are you? We need to go find your-" Sherlock stopped at the door of their room. Meredith lay in the bed writhing in pain, her wings stretched to her sides, drooped in exhaustion. Sherlock ran to her side and took her hand. She glistened with sweat and was panting hard. John came out of their bathroom with a wet rag and placed it on her forehead.

Sally peaked in. She hadn't seen Meredith in months. Her eyes grew wide as she saw her laying in bed clutching her large belly. "Oh god help us. You're going to be a father?!" Sherlock ignored her. His full attention on Meredith, his face showed no hint at the storm of emotions he was feeling.

"Did you call him?!" Sherlock moved Meredith's hair away from her face, and turned to John.

"Yes he didn't answer! Her contractions are increasingly longer each time with less time apart. Right now shes about one minute apart. I'm going to go call him again." John walked out, ignoring Sally and Lestrade and dialing a number on his mobile.

"Lestrade, call Mycroft. Tell him to bring someone. Please!" Sherlock handed his phone to DI, never tearing his eyes from Meredith. Lestrade did as asked.

Meredith had begun to calm down again. The worst of the contraction had passed she had a few moments of quiet bliss. She looked over at Sherlock kneeled at her side, she smiled and reached over and kissed the worried smile he was giving her. She heard movement at the door. Her instincts were going haywire. It took all her strength to not throw a knife at anyone who moved. Sally stood at the door with a determined expression on her face. Before she could say anything the pain seared through her again. Starting down just below her belly.

Meredith's pained screams were killing Sherlock he didn't know what to do. He just held on to her hand as she painfully squeezed all feeling from his fingers. Next thing he knew Sally was at his side. "Listen I know we don't get on, never have, but let me help. I get she's not human but when I worked as first response I delivered my fair share of children." Sally looked at Sherlock for permission.

Sherlock nodded. "Anything. Please help her." Sally was slightly taken aback by the emotion in his eyes. He felt helpless. She turned and removed her coat and folded up her sleeves.

Lestrade came through the door, "Mycroft's doctor isn't in the country. He, himself won't be able to get here for two hours! Sally what are you doing?"

"Helping. Tell Dr. Watson I'm going to need a sterile scalpel and scissors." Sally walked into Sherlock's restroom to wash her hands as Lestrade ran to John.

John came in holding his med kit, with Mary in tow, "He answered this time. He'll be here in ten minutes." Mary pushed passed John and grabbed Sherlock by the arm. Picking him up off the floor.

"Sherlock, out. She's having this baby here and now. Go. We'll take care of it." She pushed the reluctant Detective out of the room and snapped the door shut behind him. John, Mary and Sally got to work.

_________________________

Sherlock had been pacing the living area nonstop since he was taken out of the room, thirty minutes ago. He was worried. The Doctor had said there may be complications during childbirth, as the child was part human, part Gallifrean, not to mention Yvette had been genetically mutated. He didn't want to loose either of them. Andrela had warned that she couldn't help her during this. Yvette had to do it on her own strength, she couldn't borrow any. The Doctor was sitting on the couch knees bouncing. Lestrade watched both anxious men, he had been growing subtly anxious himself.

Meredith could still be heard crying in pain from the other room. Lestrade noticed both men's eyebrows knit at the cry. There were sounds of people noisily bounding up the stairs.

"How is she?" Dean burst through the door, Castiel and Sam right behind him, all wearing the same worried expression. Meredith cried in pain again. Sherlock started pulling on his hair. He couldn't take the sounds. He couldn't bare the thought of her in pain. "Hey, hey!" Dean went over and grabbed Sherlock's shoulders and shook him out of his panicked daze. "She's gonna be alright! Ok? She's a fighter!" Dean knew full well of the dangers she was currently facing. "She's too stubborn to not make it and you of all people know that!"

"Right you are Dean, but we just can't bare hearing her in pain." The Doctor looked up from the spot on the carpet he had been focusing on. Tears on the edge of his eyes. He stood and shook his crazy auburn hair. He joined Sherlock in pacing. Mrs. Hudson brought a decanter full of bourbon, claiming they needed something stronger than tea. She managed to get Sherlock to have a drink to work the edge off. They continued waiting patiently, all that could be heard were Meredith's crys.

Twenty more excruciating minutes passed, when Sherlock heard a sound he would have never dreamed would come from his room. Everyone's head snapped up and faced the door at the sound of a baby crying. Sherlock stood and stared at the door. It opened, letting out an exhausted Sally and Mary. They both had enormous grins plastered on their faces. Sally walked up to Sherlock and did something she never thought she would do. She hugged the detective, he stood rigid, he pulled her off gently and looked at her, every question he wanted to ask was screaming in his eyes. She let go and cleared her throat.

"She needs a minute to compose herself, but she's perfectly fine, just very tired. John is still checking her vitals to be sure, but she's incredibly strong. The child is a very healthy and feathery baby boy. Looks like you have a son now Sherlock Holmes." She gave the man a smile. The tension in the room broke.

He was beaming, words could not explain his relief and happiness. The Doctor stood from his seat and ran to Sherlock giving him a hug, laughing with joy. Mrs. Hudson let out a small squeak of excitement at the news.

John came out of the room and walked to his best friend. He embraced Sherlock as well, a tear in his eye. "She did it Sherlock. You did it. You have all the love you will ever need in that room right now. She's waiting for you, mate. Go say hello to your son." His cheeks were hurting from smiling so hard.

Sherlock practically ran to the room. He opened the door gently to find Meredith sitting up in bed holding a small bundle in her arms, her wings were still splayed out and almost wet from sweating so much. She was cooing at the bundle of blankets quietly. She looked up at her husband as he entered the room. Her eyes were a soft and gentle gold, and she herself, was surrounded by a light gold mist. Sherlock gave her a quizzical look at the sight. "Andrela is healing me Sherlock. Come here." She extended her arm to him. He walked over and sat next to her in the bed. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and practically cradled her in his arms. He looked down at the little creature his wife was holding. He was wide awake. He had bright grey eyes that seemed to lighten and darken at random moments. "He has your eyes, love." She looked up at him and smiled.

"Sally said feathery?" Sherlock bent his head down and placed a gentle kiss on the child's forehead. It cooed in response to his father's touch. Meredith could already tell who would be his favorite. She reached to the child's side and pulled lightly on a small black wing. In the faint light it had a gold shimmer identical to his mothers wings.

"Genetically speaking. These wings are a part of my DNA. I'm not surprised he inherited the trait. Also those little buggers were the reason birth was so painful, but it was worth every moment." She folded the wing back into the blanket. "It doesn't seem like he has any abilities other than shifts in his vision, but it's too soon to tell." She placed a kiss on the baby's cheek. "What should we name him?" Meredith looked up at her husband, hoping he had some ideas.

"Well. The Holmes are known for long names. We have both your brothers names, and I very much would like him to have my grandfathers middle name. Noctis." He replied softly. "I say his name be Audric Noctis Kane Holmes. What do you think?"

Meredith couldn't hold in the tears. Her precious brothers hadn't seen their 50th birthday, but their names could live on in their nephew. "I love it Sherlock." She looked down at the small bundle in her arms. "It's perfect." She sniffled lightly. "He can go by Noct for short." She smiled. "Do you want to hold him?" Sherlock gulped but nodded. He stood up and extended his arms. Meredith carefully placed Noct in them and adjusted them to support the child better. "Mind his head." Meredith watched the man she had freed in so many ways, sway back and forth cradling the baby. In a short year and a half, they had done so much together. They had saved the world from demons, wed, and even found a way for Sherlock to live by her side almost as long as she lived. Every one of her fears had flown out the window. She watched her husband rock the baby and explain to him the difference between several tobacco ashes. She smiled lightly before closing her eyes. For the first time in 45 years Meredith slept.

Sherlock looked up and saw Meredith had closed her eyes. He panicked slightly as she had never slept around him before. He checked her wrist. Still had a pulse and still strong, she must've been exhausted. Noctis cooed in his arms, he looked down and saw the child's eyes had grown a bright grey almost silver, in the darkness. He could feel his wings fidget underneath the blanket, they didn't disappear like his mothers did. Must be the human part of him. He walked to the door and slipped out quietly.

Sherlock looked up from the bundle to all the expectant eyes watching him. The man who believed he would never have friends, who treated people coldly to protect them and himself, had a living room full of people that cared for him. His smile grew wide. Meredith walking into his life was the best thing to ever occur on Baker St. She had given him a family, a son, and a chance at a life he had only ever dreamed about. He cleared his throat and walked to the man that had done so much for them and the father of the woman he loved.

"Doctor," he said quietly, carefully handing the child over to him. "Meet your grandson." he locked eyes with the man who had lost his family, his own sons, wife and for the longest time believed he had lost his daughter. "This is Audric Noctis Kane Holmes. Noct for short."

The Doctor looked down at the small child in his arms. Tears steadily streaming down his face. He looked up at his son in law, nothing but gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you." His voice was quiet, "Thank you Sherlock, you can't imagine how much that means to me. What it means to her." He held the baby carefully in one arm and hugged the normally ridged detective. The Doctor turned and began introducing Noct to everyone, carefully handing him to Mrs. Hudson who couldn't keep her tears in any longer.

Sally watched from the door, there was so much happiness and love in this flat it was almost too much. Sherlock walked over and stood by her. "You are quite intelligent, I never say it because I resent some of the decisions you've made, some decisions that weren't wise. Meredith has helped me understand that it is not truly my place to judge you for those decisions as I myself have made some poor choices as well. I-I apologize. I also wanted to say thank you." His voice was quiet and serious. "For helping us even though you don't like me very much, for always having Lestrade's back, for helping her, and for delivering my son."

Donovan never thought she would hear Sherlock apologize. Any other day she would've said her two cents. She would have thrown in his face that he was wrong about her, that he was a snobby man with no feelings. Yet she didn't feel the need to rub it in his face, she realized that he did have feelings. He wasn't a complete sociopath, he just hid behind the façade of being one to keep himself from getting hurt. He had made it so far out of his shell, she didn't want to be the reason he went back in it. "I'm going to be honest, it's going to be strange hearing you say that. The Great Sherlock Holmes has a son. Wait till the gossip rags get a load of that." She chuckled lightly as she watched Dean refuse to let Noct go. Claiming he was going to be the favorite uncle. Noct had been quiet the entire time. Taking in all the new colors and sounds. She looked back over at Sherlock. She thought back to when they first met. At first she fancied him, what wasn't there to like. Tall, dark and handsome. She remembered how cold he was. So condescending and blunt, not caring who he hurt in his path for the answer to his questions. "Sherlock you're a changed man."

"I know." His serious voice caused Sally to think he was contemplating whether or not it was a bad thing.

"It's a good thing. That's primarily why I disliked you, why most people dislike you. It was never your ability to deduce or find the culprit in five minutes. No, that is all actually very impressive. It was how you treated people, that, I couldn't stand. You can be so cold and unfeeling, you're a machine at times, but it looks like you are human after all. All it took was family, you didn't know you always had, and a woman who could put up with your tantrums and love you for the strange remarkable man you are." Sally looked up at Sherlock. She gave him a small smile. "I'll take my leave then, this seems to be a family moment."

"It is, therefore I see no reason why you should leave. You've been around for just about everything else." Sherlock watched Noct get handed around, his voice was level and monotonous, like when he stated facts and deductions at a crime scene. He walked towards the group in the living room and took Noctis from Lestrade's arms as the little one had started crying. Sally stood in shock at the door after Sherlock's words. She couldn't help the smile that played on her lips as she watched the 'Great Sherlock Holmes' rock his son back and forth in an attempt to calm him. Everyone else had burst into happy conversation chatting away and catching up.

"Excuse me, Sargent Donavan." A cold, serious voice came from behind her. She jumped out of the way to let Mycroft through the door. He stood at the entrance and watched his brother quietly. Every fear he ever had for him, for his future, for his well being, was washed away at the scene in front of him. Sherlock stood by the window cradling a small bundle, talking quietly to it. He set his umbrella aside and walked silently next to him. Everyone else had been lost in their own conversations.

"...when you're older I'll teach you all about it, just do not tell your mother, she'll have our heads."

Mycroft chuckled quietly, bringing Sherlock back to reality. "What are you planning on teaching him?"

"Many things, but most of the interesting things are what Meredith calls 'dangerous'." Sherlock shifted the baby's weight in his arms.

"May I?" Mycroft asked quietly. Sherlock handed the child carefully to his brother, he could feel the small delicate wings on the child's back. "His do not hide?"

"No. I believe it has to do with his being part human and not having a TARDIS attached to his soul. We'll have to find a way to hide them as he gets older. I don't want him being teased for being 'different'. " Sherlock sneered the last word as memories of their childhood came back to both of them.

"I'll have our R&D department make up something for him." Mycroft looked down at his nephew. "His name?"

"Audric Noctis Kane Holmes."

"Grand-mêre will be very happy." Mycroft smiled lightly. They both stood in content silence watching out the window. "Mummy will be wanting to visit. Or you visit her. You are now the favorite, I do hope you're aware of that."

"Nonsense."

"It's true. You've done something I do not see myself doing."

Sherlock merely raised his eyebrows at the man next to him.

Mycroft sighed. "You've given her a grandson, Sherlock. You haven't the slightest idea how long she has been pestering me with the question." His nephew in his arms began to wiggle about in discomfort. He readjusted himself and began rocking him. He watched his eyes change from light to dark. "He looks much older than newborn."

"Gestation period for Gallifreyan's is a bit longer than humans." The Doctor walked up next to the two men. "Also why natural birth was more painful for Meredith than it normally is with humans. He's roughly the size of a three month old." He reached over and stroked the child's cheek lightly as it began to fall asleep.

"Give him here." Sherlock reached and took his son from his brothers arms. He rocked it for a while more until he was positive he was asleep. He slowly made his way towards the room. John stopped him before he could reach the door.

"Sherlock. You have no idea how happy I am for you. Who would've thought five years ago when we met, we would both end up being family men." He laughed lightly.

"I for one never thought that this would become reality." Sherlock's gaze became pensive. "I had always hoped that something like this would happen, but I learned at a young age that I was vastly different from other people, and people don't usually like different. I was hurt many times, so I pushed the world away. Alone was all I had, alone protected me."

"But now you're not. You have a wife and son just as unique as you. Your own little band of different. After all, you say it yourself, normal is boring." John gave Sherlock a pat on the shoulder before letting him go.

"Yes, I do say that don't I." Sherlock walked into the bedroom towards his old crib they had brought in from his mothers. He laid Noct down gently and unwrapped him from the blanket, letting his skin breathe. His little black wings were stretched out the feathers were still a little damp but were drying quickly. He reached down and stroked the soft down, they shivered on contact, and Noct cooed quietly in his sleep. Sherlock watched him, he took in every feature of the child, he was a perfect blend between him and Yvette. Not taking after one more than the other. He had her olive skin and jet black hair but his heavy curls were starting to grow. He had his sharp features but not as severe, his brow was like his mother's, full of emotion when they wanted to be.

He was this beautiful creature's father. Father. It was a strange sensation. A new feeling. It was a mixture of pride, fear, protectiveness, and love all mixed into one. He catalogued it and put it away. Noct started to fidget in his sleep. Sherlock reached down and instinctively put his finger in the child's small hand. It's tiny fingers wrapped around his index and Noct lay still. He began to open his eyes wide awake and refreshed from his 10 minute nap. He felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind him. He turned and saw his wife had also awoken from her short slumber. "It seems as though he'll need about as much sleep as you, Bird."

"Actually he'll probably sleep more than you and I combined. Which is saying something." She chuckled and reached over the crib and wrapped Noctis up once more before she picked him back up. "Let's go back out side darling, I need to say hello too."

"Are you sure you're well enough?" Worry returned to Sherlock's voice.

Meredith chuckled. "Yes. After all Andrela healed me and she has yet to meet him too." She turned and walked toward the door. Her wings dragging along the ground behind her. She reached by the door and threw on a long silk blue robe, hiding her wings, skillfully switching the baby from one arm to the other.

Sherlock followed his wife out, back into the living room. By now everyone had opened a bottle of champagne and were drinking to the child's health. Everyone cheered at the sight of Meredith well and standing. She seemed like she hadn't just been carrying a child for 14 months. Her figure had returned and was no longer tired or sweaty. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders and down her back, framing her figure perfectly. The blue dressing gown she wore looked more like a cloak and flowed about behind her as she moved.

Sherlock leaned on the doorframe of his bedroom and watched her embrace everyone in the room, including Sally. Lestrade was on the phone telling people at the crime scene to finish up. As Sherlock had deduced who the culprit was. Mycroft walked over to him a question evident on his features.

"Mummy would like to come over now, but you are well within your rights to refuse. I told her to wait until you showed. However we did have to get our stubbornness from someone."

Sherlock watched his wife and rapidly growing family. Mummy would not approve of his lifestyle, and his choice in associations. He didn't want to deal with the intruding questions now. "No. Tell her to wait. We shall come by tomorrow."

"Understood, brother." Mycroft raised his phone to his ear and continued bickering with their mother.

Sherlock heard steps come up to 221B.

"Why the bloody hell are you both here and not helping me with the damn crime sce-" Anderson stopped at the sight of Meredith holding a child, spitting image of Sherlock. "No. No way." Sherlock walked over and protectively stood between him and his wife. Mainly for Anderson's safety, he wasn't sure what Yvette or Andrela would do to him if he said anything. The room grew silent as they all eyed him carefully. Anderson laughed, he sounded amused and a sarcastic expression appeared on his face. "Never in a million years did I thin-"

"Anderson. Don't." Surprisingly Sally spoke up.

"But he gives us so much shit for -"

"I know, but this is a happy occasion. She literally just gave birth about two hours ago. You really want to do this now? Have some tact Anderson. Besides you're in a room full of people who could probably kill you before you made it to the door. Meredith alone could wipe you from existence and I mean that quite literally. Use your head more often or you really will never amount to anything." Sally pushed him out of the flat and slammed the door in his face. She turned back to a room full of shocked people. "What? Sherlock may be an ass but he has every reason to be. Anderson's just a twat."

Dean started laughing hard as the effects of the champagne began taking it's toll on the group, they all broke out into laughter. Sherlock and Mycroft just let out an amused snort, and Meredith walked over to Sally and gave her a hug, thanking her for helping during the delivery again.

Sherlock walked to his usual place by the window and watched the people outside. There were far too many people in the flat for his comfort but he wasn't going to send them out just yet. As Sally said, this was a happy occasion, and he planned on embracing the emotion to the fullest.


	7. How Gibbs Met Wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit fanwork. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

**0900, 23rd of April, 1993**

"Lance Corporal Gibbs!"

"Yes sir!" A young Marine immediately stood straight and at attention.

"Report to the Lieutenant Colonel's office."

"Is something wrong Gunny?"

Holten studied the Lance Corporal's expressive eyebrows as they furrowed to show his worry. "I don't know son, they just wanted to see you."

"Yes sir."

Holten watch the young man make his way up to the main building on base. Judging by the secretiveness of everything, he hoped this wouldn't turn out to be too dangerous.

_________________________________

"I don't understand why you can't come Reggie."

Gibbs paused at the sound of a woman's low sultry voice. It was like satin and so easy to listen to. Captivated by the tone he waited a moment longer.

"Because Meredith I'm getting old." The Lieutenant Colonels rough laugh rang through the door. He wasn't wrong. He was almost 70 and still refused to retire. Gibbs started walking to the door. He didn't want to get caught eavesdropping, he continued to listen as he placed his hand on the door. "It's not my fault you'll never change."

"I take offense to that actually."

Gibbs knocked lightly on the door and waited to be allowed in. What did he mean You'll never change?

"Come in Gibbs."

He opened the doors and met the woman to whom the British voice belonged to. She sat on the corner of of the Colonel's desk, her long black hair fell just past her lower back and looked somewhat windswept. She turned to face him and he stopped walking. It couldn't be possible to have eyes so blue. They were as bright as the pale blue sky outside. "You called sir?" He composed himself but did not take his eyes off the woman. He didn't know if he could trust her yet.

"Meredith I'd like you to meet Lance Corporal Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I'll be assigning him to your detail. I can assure you he is more than capable to handle what ever you throw at him.

Gibbs, this is Meredith Alkwin. I will be having you assist her on an operation that we will be handling with the utmost discretion." The Colonel maintained eye contact with the young marine to drive the point home.

"Will this be off the books sir?"

"Yes, and if you're going to come with me you are going to have to learn to control your emotions better. Wipe that worried look off your face." Meredith hopped off the desk and approached him, something on her jingled as she walked. It was then Gibbs realized what she was wearing. A long black trench coat and black pants accompanied with belt straps all across her legs. A small collection of knives and daggers lined up along the belt for easy access in combat. Around her neck a pendant caught his eye, it was an insignia, and he had seen it before. He stood at attention and saluted her as one should in the presence of royalty whether his nation or not. He didn't know that they were still around.

"At ease soldier, I've no Empire left to protect. There will be no need of that." She circled around him like a vulture, analyzing every detail.

"Pardon ma'am, but I feel like my mother in law is in the room."

She laughed, the sound was genuine and bubbly. "I don't mean to be rude. Just, making sure." She turned to his commanding officer, "he's only been in service for two years, you think he's experienced enough to handle what may come Reginald?"

"I've never met a better Shooter, Meredith. He will do fine."

"Very well." She turned back to Gibbs. "We will meet tomorrow morning at the Airpad, 0500 precisely. Reggie here will give you the remainder of the details, I have matters to attend to. It will be... interesting to see you in action, especially against what we're facing." She chuckled darkly, fully cementing his distrust for her. He watched her sway out of the office.

"Sir, can I be frank?"

"Yes."

"What the hell is going on? And why are we helping a Royal to a country that no longer exists?"

"She may have lost her nation to the Soviets but she still fights to protect people. Today you are going to learn about a world you didn't know existed. The evil in the night that many of us are not prepared to handle, marine or not. She is one of few, that hold the main line of defense against these things." He gestured the young man to take a seat.

"What are these things sir?" Gibbs lowered himself hesitantly into the chair in front of the desk.

"Tell me Jethro, what do you know of the supernatural?"

___________________________

**0500, 24th of April, 1993**

Gibbs' mind was racing. There was so much he still had questions about and very few knew the answer.

Turned out this Meredith woman wasn't a royal but a royal guard. She protected the Russian Empress before it fell at the hands of the Soviets. Still though, it was weird to think she was even older than that. It would explain the way she talked. He neared the Helipad as she waited patiently by waiting for the clear to board. There were several others scrambling around making sure everything was set for take off.

"An Arachne?" Gibbs walked up to Meredith, the identity of the creature they were "hunting" was unknown, but Gibbs had done some research the night before, granting him little sleep. He lifted his coffee to his lips and waited for Meredith's reply to his suggestion.

"And good morning to you too Jethro. Arachne is quite possible, however the choice in habitat seems quite strange. They like the dank and deep." She gave him a kind smile, happy to share this part of herself with someone. "Honestly, I'm rather pleased you're taking this so well."

"Oh no I don't get any of it. But there's no sense fighting it."

"When the time comes we'll have too." Her expression changed quickly to a morbid one as she boarded the Helicopter. Gibbs chugged the rest of his coffee and hopped aboard as well.

_________________________

Meredith sat just across from him dressed just as she was yesterday. "You heard my suggestion. What do you think it is?" Gibbs shouted over the whirring of the blades above them. She stayed quiet and didn't answer, that was when Gibbs noticed she didn't have a helmet on or strapped in for that matter. He waved to get her attention. _What's was wrong with her?_ She continued staring out at the sky. Almost longingly.

 _"We're almost there, but we won't be able to land. That was the deal, be ready to jump in 3 minutes."_ The pilot shouted through the headset. Gibbs turned to repeat it to Meredith whom didn't have a headset, but she gave the pilot a thumbs up in response. She stood and carefully made her way to Gibbs. She inspected his chute to make sure it was attached correctly.

He shook her off. "I know how to put on a damn chute!" Gibbs readied himself by the door prepared to open it and jump.

_"30 seconds!"_

Meredith pulled open the door and waited next to Gibbs. He turned to make sure she had a chute tied up too. His eyes grew wide when he saw nothing on her back. Before he had a chance to respond Meredith shoved him out of the helicopter into the open Colombian air. He turned and pulled the cord to his chute in time to see Meredith jump out. She dove past him in frightening speed.

__________________________

Oh the air felt so great! And the sun was wonderful! As she dove past Jethro she spread her wings wide and swooped back up towards him. She looped around him causing the chute to bounce some with him still dangling.

Parachutes took forever to move, she killed some time by soaring around him. They were headed for trees, obviously, so she would cut him out of the chute and fly down with him once they got closer.

__________________________  
Wings. Fucking. Wings. Large blue and black wings opened wide catching the wind just before she hit the canopy of the vast jungle below. Little flecks of white patterned her wings to give the impression of the night sky. She was perfectly camouflaged, for night. Right now she stuck out like a sore thumb.

He watched her move with grace and cut through the air. He shouldn't be surprised, he just didn't know what to think. He thought about everything he learned last night, all of the creatures he never knew existed. He couldn't pin point what she was. He still didn't fully trust her, knowing what her weakness was would be a benefit. Just in case.

"You're taking far too long!" Meredith clapped her wings hard to hover near him. "Let me cut you down and we can be on the ground in a few seconds. I stick out far too much!" She shouted through the sound of the wind and the helicopter passing by. Her long coat was still on and waving around behind her with every move she made. He figured she was right. The sooner they got on the ground the better. He nodded his approval and she drew a small blade from her collection strapped to her legs. _Guess that does come in handy._

She cut his cords and he immediately began to fall, she quickly grabbed him by the strops of his backpack and lowered them through the trees landing softly on the jungle floor. Gibbs caught his breath while he removed what was left of his chute's harness. Meredith settled her wings under her long coat again and slid her knife back into its spot. "Why do you have so many knives?"

"I make a point of always having some accessible. Do you not have one?"

"I do ma'am. Never go anywhere without a knife. It's a rule of mine."

"You should add a clause to it."

"Like what?"

Meredith spun and threw a knife just behind Gibbs pinning a snake to a tree. Gibbs turned around quickly and readied his guns at his side.

"Like always have it easily accessible. It of no use to you in your backpack. Here." She pulled a delicate looking brass knife from her collection and slid it between the folds of his boot. "Guns are great and all but nothing beats the stealth or surprise of a knife that's hidden away yet ready at a moments notice." She smiled at him as she walked over to the pinned snake and drew her knife back.

"Let get going, shall we? We have quite the road ahead of us."


	8. A Mutual Benefit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

"Listen Probie, the case is three years old why're you still lookin' through it?" Mike Franks stood from his desk, staring at the young NIS agent across from him.

"Because I think I know what did this."

"Yeah. Some twisted sonnavabitch. We just ain't caught'em yet."

"No. You don't get it. I- look- hold on- just give me a minute." Gibbs stoic face broke this once and showed his slight agitation. He put the phone to his ear and pulled out an old business card from his wallet, dialed the numbers and waited patiently for the phone to ring.

Mike watched half the conversation.

"Hey Meredith, it's Jethro... yeah it has.... I'm alright, listen I got something here that might be in your jurisdiction... no I get it... yeah I know... don't care, they left a little girl orphaned... three years ago... ab-about three years ago... I'm alright... yeah... coffee in ten?... around the corner from the NIS building... yeah I joined just like you said I would... no nothing really does..." Gibbs laughed a bit and continued listening. "Yeah for sure... I'm gonna bring someone with me... no he considers them more guidelines than rules" Gibbs met Mike's eyes. "No I don't think he does... might have to break it easy to him... well he's real stubborn... alright see ya in a bit, be careful it's raining out."

"What the hell was that?"

"Got a lead."

"Well then lead the way."

____________________________________

"Jethro!" A woman with long black hair and striking features ran up to Gibbs and embraced him. "I'm sorry I didn't reach out when I should have."

"It's alright. Really Meredith I'm fine."

"No one really is love." Meredith pulled away and gave him a serious look. "All I ask is you stay in the light, if you wander too far you'll end in a path you ought not be in."

"Meredith," Gibbs moved on from her statement, "this is Special Agent Mike Franks."

"Hello."

"Pleasure." Meredith shook Mikes offered hand. "Shall we? I've got a booth in the back." They wandered towards the booth, Meredith slid in one side with the other two opposite her. "I believe you have something that falls under my area of expertise?"

"And what exactly is that area?"

"Mike. There's a lot more out there than you think." Meredith locked her deep grey eyes locked with his own. He thought he saw a flash in them just as lightning struck near by drawing his attention away.

"Like what?" Mike was starting to feel uneasy, and that didn't happen often or easily.

"You know those stories you were told as a child? The ones about the boogeyman and ghosts that haunt the grave yard? Stories of a demon taking control of someone's body?"

Mike started laughing. "Don't tell me you believe that stuff!"

"I don't have to." Meredith watched him carefully. Her intense stare caught Mike off guard. "Oh good. It started to rain harder." She got and out of the booth. "I know your type all too well Michael. So I have something to show you."

She led the two outside and around the back of the cafe. Mike heard the pitter patter of the gentle rain but never felt a drop. Once at the back of the alley Meredith stopped and took off her long coat. Out fell two heavy wings, they stretched over her head showing off their impressive size. Mike stood dumbfounded, staring at them he saw their beautiful color, a mixture of blues, blacks and deep purples. Flecks of white scattered throughout giving the impression of the night sky. Lightning struck behind her and her eyes gently flashed simultaneously. She walks up closer to him and grabbed his shoulders. She was incredibly close, he could see a the gentle wisps of grey giving way to white in her eyes. They looked like clouds. "Brace yourself." Her sinister whisper sent a shiver through both men.

With one loud flap of her wings she burst into the sky with Mike in hand. The air loudly rushed past his face. He watched as the clouds above them slowly got closer and closer. He braced himself for the drenching feeling, but it never came. Suddenly the air was still, he heard Meredith's wings flapping behind him as he opened his eyes again.

It was a different world above the clouds, the dark grey field below them waved like the ocean but at a gentler slower pace. They reflected back an array of pink and reds as the sun set behind them. The soft blues of the day started to fade into the dark colors of the night sky. It gave him a comforting feeling to see. The relaxing sensation filled him and he felt warm. Some how he started to move away from Meredith. A light gold mist flowed and surrounded him. He was able to turn and face the woman behind the seemingly magical experience he was having. "How?"

She hovered lightly with her wings outstretched a light breeze sent small threads of hair rolling across her face. "Michael, Jethro believes the culprit behind this attack is a demon. They are far too dangerous, that is why you're going to need to break a couple rules."

"How?" Michael still couldn't take in what he was seeing. He had to be dreaming.

"If Jethro is correct in his assumption, your going to have to send an innocent man to prison. I will provide you with all the information needed to convict him."

Mike snapped out of his trance that statement. She couldn't really be serious. "Hell no!"

"Once he is found guilty your case will close, I will then break him out of jail and relocate him and his family. Since you know that I will ultimately set a man free from prison, you're going to have to look the other way."

"Still don't like it."

"This is only if Jethro is correct. He is still fairly new to my world. It could be something else. However, the public eye is not ready for the creatures of the night, nor do I believe it ever really will be."

"Yeah I can get why." Mike crossed his arms, fighting the urge to light a cigar. "What else could it be?"

"Not sure, haven't looked at the file."

"So you're basically giving me worst case scenario."

"Precisely." A grin spread across Meredith's features, the sight was breathtaking. Mike knew better than to fall for charms.

"What's best case senario?"

"As far as what?"

"Demons. Best case scenario on worst creature?"

"Cross roads deal. Someone made a deal with a demon ten years ago and it came to collect its debt owed. A soul. If that's the case it's just a matter of fabricating a cover story."

"Easy enough. Illegal, but easy."

"Mmmhm." Meredith eyed the man, he seemed to be taking it well. The atmospheric lighting and scenery tend to help these things go over better. "You ready to go back now?"

"Yeah bring me back to ground. Don't really like flying."

___________________________

"Well it's not a demon."

"It's not?"

"No but I can understand how you came to that conclusion."

"Well, what do ya think it is then?"

"Mike your taking all this pretty good." Gibbs turned to look at his boss. He was concerned at first but now he just finds it amusing.

"Ain't no point fighting it. Got flown up higher'an airplanes go. Sometimes Probie, you just gotta go with the flow. Deal with it all later."

"Jethro reacted very much the same way." Meredith smiled at the two. She had always found it easy to show people there was more to the world than met the eye. "As to what did this, it was a couple of ghouls. They're easy to kill but hard to find. We would have to go back to where this happened in order to track them down. They usually stay in one area and scavenge old graveyards. They aren't much for hunting or traveling. What concerns me is how he died. I would have to examine the room this happened in. The ghouls didn't kill him, they just found something fresh to eat."

"That's right up there with all kinds of messed up."

"Are you able to go now?" Gibbs ignored Mikes comment as the Arachnae he and Meredith had hunted a while ago was far worse than this. He wasn't phased.

"Where? Georgia? Sure, I could be there in 30 minutes. You two on the other hand. I can't carry you both. If you need a tip off to justify using a government car I can take care of that for you."

"Woah woah wait a second here. I never said we would go to Georgia. I thought we were just comin' up with a story!"

"Mike, we have someone who can help close the case!"

"Jethro can you emotionally remove yourself from this and take it seriously?" Mike stood and looked at the young Agent in the eyes. "I know this guy left a wife and daughter behind, can you do this with a straight head?"

"Damn it Mike, this has nothing to do with that!"

"Are sure?! Because I don't think you are!"

"Gentleman." Meredith's quiet voice somehow over took both of theirs. She was still sitting but her presence somehow loomed over the two of them. Gibbs shrank back into his seat and Mike swallowed nothing, taking his seat as well. "I believe you will both find that this is of mutual benefit to both parties."

"What do you get out of it?" Mike began relighting his cigar.

"An ally within the the law. What I do isn't exactly legal, so I try and get as many as I can." She snapped her fingers and put out Mike cigar. "Don't smoke indoors." She stood from the booth, "Now, I will call in leaving a tip off to you that there may be a lead on this case and you two should take initiative to head to Georgia. Don't fret about a place to stay I have a place for you both to sleep in. I will meet you there. Here's the address." With that Meredith tossed a card to Mike and sauntered out of the cafe.

She pulled her coat collar tighter around her face to brace the chill breeze. Winter was hitting the east coast hard this year, maybe she would fly south for the winter, there's a reason birds do it.


	9. Once a Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders. 
> 
> Trigger Warning: Suicide; Self Harm

"Sherlock, come help me please!"

"Darling what is it? What's wrong?!" Sherlock bounded up the remaining steps as quickly as he was able. Meredith rarely asked for help. As he approached the kitchen to their flat he saw his wife drop a pitcher of lemonade she had made for dinner. Sherlock caught it just before it hit the ground and placed it on the table. He took Yvette's hands, "You're hands are ice love."

"I'm fine. Don't worry." As she made to turn away Sherlock heard the congestion in her nose. He grabbed her shoulder and gently turned her to face him. He pressed the back of his hand to her cheek then forehead.

"You're face is burning up." He took out a pen flashlight and waved it around her pupils. He stared into her beautiful eyes, so pale white they matched the overcast day out side. To anyone else they would be an eerie sight, but Sherlock lived for cloudy days. Her white and grey eyes added a whole new level to her beauty. "You're sick."

"No. I'm fine I just need a ca- _aaachoo_ -a case. I'm going mad."

"No. You're sick. You need rest and medicine. I'll get John."

"Sherlock I'm not si- _aaachoo_ \- I'm not sick Sherlock. Besides even if I was, human medicine wouldn't work on me. I'd burn through it." She turned away from him and began fussing over Noctis who had thrown his bowl of noodles on the floor.

"Fine. Then I'm calling you're father."

"Sherlock no! I'm fine!"

"Yes hello Doctor.... I'm well Yvette has a cold and she says human medications won't work on her..."

"Sherlock this really isn't necessary."

"Yes.... its Thursday June 8th..... same year.... about-" Sherlock looked at his mobile for a second before putting back to his ear. "About 4:30 in the evening.... perfect join us for dinner then."

"Sherlock...." Yvette's warning glare gave Sherlock the chills. She was upset with him, but he didn't care. She was sick and need proper attention. He ignored her stare and took the bowl of noodles from her hands and threw them away. He reached into the cupboard and pulled a cup of applesauce and grabbed a spoon. Noct had a love of apples and he honestly didn't know where he inherited that trait from.

"I'll do it. You can take the roast beef out of the oven then." Yvette took the applesauce from him and began giving spoonfuls to their son. She knew she was sick. She just didn't want to be. It was childish yes, but she hated being cooped up for too long.

Noctis began reaching for the door, then shortly after a knock came. Yvette sometimes wondered if Noctis had some connection to the time stream. There were times he knew something was happening before it happened. She pulled her son from his chair and went towards the door.

"Hello father."

"Darling! I'm sorry to hear you have a cold! No worries I have just the cure!" A different man walked through the door. He was taller and his hair was darker. It was the Doctor she had first met, he had regenerated back to his previous self, which meant-

"Father what happened?"

"Come sit down, I'll take Noct. Sit. Sit." He reached over and took Noct with ease and gestured for her to sit down on the couch. Ignoring her question, she refused to budge.

"Father." Her wings began to peak out from under her cardigan.

"Please sit down."

"No. Answer my question. Who did this to you?" At this point Sherlock came out of the kitchen only to stop at his tracks. Sherlock had never met this Doctor. Yvette wasn't surprised to see him be wary.

"Meredith." Sherlock didn't use her real name. He didn't know who this was, why was he here, where was the Doct- _Oh_...

"It was nothing, don't worry about it. Please darling sit down. I brought medicine for you. You'll be in ship shape in no time."

"Father!" Her eyes snapped gold and her wings slid out in full display of her agitation. "You can't change unless you've been hurt! Who did this to you?! I won't stand for my family being hur-"

"I did it!"

"...What...." her eyes returned to a cloudy grey and white.

"I couldn't stand it anymore... I wasn't... I..."

_Tears. Why is he crying?_

_ He's already told you why. _

_Couldn't stand what?_

_ Ask him. I know why, but it is not my place to say. _

_I- Wh- I don't understand...._

"I don't follow. You did this? To yourself you mean?"

"Yes. That wasn't me. That was some twisted version of me. It's hard to explain I can't-" The Doctor hugged Noctis close as his tears continued to stream silently down his face. Yvette walked over and gestured for him to sit. She followed suit letting him hold onto Noctis, it seemed to be his anchor to reality. Sherlock stood where he was, he wasn't exactly the comforting sort.

"Tell me."

"I let it happen. I could have moved out of the way, but I kept the TARDIS door open just long enough to get shot by a Jadoon. Once I was injured I closed the doors and drifted off. The TARDIS immediately took me to the nebula we always go to. There I regenerated." His blue-green eyes failed to meet hers.

"Why." It wasn't a question. She needed to know. She would battle through this cold to get her answers.

"Like I said. That wasn't me. It wasn't natural. Everything was painful. Not physically not really like that, just emotionally. I'm not sure why, I just know it's not supposed to go backwards, every time I looked at you or Noct, Sherlock even, all I felt was regret. That's what that regeneration was born from, and everything I saw was regret, loss. I felt violent at times, that's not me."

"So you went suicidal..."

"No! Not suicidal, it's not like that-"

"That's exactly what it is. Wether you die or not is out of the question you hurt yourself in an attempt to fix it. In your mind you were backed by logic. You thought, if you could just pop back to how you were before it should fix it right? Well, Doctor? Did it?!" In her anger Yvette had stood and began to pace until she came to stand in front of him at her question. Her face had grown pale, and she could barely feel her fingers. She didn't care right now.

The Doctor flinched at her use of his proper "name" instead. The answer was no. It didn't. She was right of course, his thought was exactly that. If he just went back to how he was before everything would be alright. But it wasn't. Her booming voice finally brought his attention. "It didn't. Did it? Nothing was fixed. And now you've gone and made your life shorter and you still have the same pent up emotions. Don't you think for one second that I don't know what went through your mind."

"Yvette, you don't understand! It didn't feel natural! I couldn't even look at my own grandson without hating what I was!"

"You're still so young. You still haven't seen enough to know. What happened to that thing you say, what was it? Oh right, 'I've travelled through 900 years of space and time and never met someone who wasn't important.' What happened to that?!"

Sherlock walked from where he stood and took Noctis from the Doctor. "I'll be with Mrs. Hudson love, this seems to be something you two need to talk about alone."

"Alright Sherlock."

As he passed them both Sherlock stopped in front of her and leaned in. "Don't push too hard. I know where he's been. I know what it's like to do something like this for people you... care about." He wiped a few tears from her face as he spoke.

"And you think I don't?" Sherlock froze at her words. "Go. Take him downstairs. I'll call you when we're done. Thank you love." Sherlock turned and walked down the steps to Mrs. Hudson's door. Sherlock' blood ran cold. He hated to think about what she said, what had she done?

_____________________________________

"Darling it's not like that."

"Yes it is. I don't understand how you don't see this."

"It wasn't nat-"

"If you say it wasn't natural one more time I'm throwing you out! You think that what I go through is?! You think THIS IS NATURAL?!" Yvette spread her wings wide at her outburst, the pale light of the day reflected off of them and filled the room with a dim gold shimmer. "You think I haven't felt out of place? You think I don't know or don't understand, but I do. I've been in your exact shoes. I know the feeling of being unnatural, of being some freak, of being all kinds of wrong. So don't think I haven't tried it! Don't think I haven't experienced a bullet through the head and woken up to tell the tale! Don't think I don't know what a crossbow to the hearts is like! Don't you dare think I don't know what it's like to try and end the nightmare I'm forced to experience every time I should have died! You want to know the worst way to go?! A hanging! Would you like to know why? Because I can't bloody die!!" Meredith slammed her fist on the wall shaking dust from the ceiling.

"Yvette-"

"No! You've lost your right to speak! You lost it the moment you gave me your reasons, because that wasn't good enough! Don't waste your life away because you hate having all these emotions of regret and failure. I don't know what's happened to you but your right, you're not you. You're not fighting anymore, you're not using your head because it's clouded by your sorrow! You lost your people, your planet and you've lost a part of your family. I'm all you have left, and you're ignorantly throwing yourself in the path of danger. I won't just sit idly by while you loose yourself in the process!"

"Why not?! I've done enough! I've lived enough! I've done what I can to help the univer-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE ALL THE FUCKING FAMILY I HAVE LEFT TOO, DAMN IT!" Yvette's voice broke as she fell into tears, her sobs were the only sound breaking the shocked silence. "You're a selfish prick you know that?! I just got you back! You just found me! I gave you a grandson! A family! A place to belong and call home! And you go and start to... to foolishly throw it all away! You've been so used to doing things on your own you've forgotten what's it's like to have others depend on you, to care for you, to worry for your well being. You could have talked about what you're feeling! You could have said something. I'm here! I'm willing to listen! Just bloody tell me something is wrong! I don't give a damn about the rest of the universe, but don't you dare forget about me. Not again... I can't do it again..." she fell into his arms and sobbed into his shoulder.

The Doctor held her tightly while he too silently cried. He pet her long black hair while he tried to comfort her, but how could he do so properly, when he was hurting too. "Shhhshhh there, there now. I'm here." Yvette began to sway where she stood. She exerted too much effort in their argument. He could try and carry her, he was taller now. He was able to leverage himself better. He bent down and picked her up from her legs and carried her to her room. He laid her down on the bed and ran back to the living room to grab the medicine he had brought.

Yvette was weak as her cold began taking its toll on her. He reached over to her right arm and slid an IV in her artery. He connected the medication to her and hung it up on post of the bed. "Father..."

"Shhh shhh it's alright. Rest. I'll be here when you wake."

Yvette lost consciousness as she began to reach out for him.

__________________________________

The Doctor sat in the chair by the window watching the gentle rain fall on the street below. He had texted Sherlock what had happened and told him to come up and have dinner. Instead he had gone to the shop to buy things to make Yvette some soup, and had put the roast beef in the fridge for another day. He looked down at his lap, Noctis was asleep in his arms. He listened to the quiet sounds of his daughter and grandson breathing. It was comforting to listen to and the gentle symphony of rain and cars driving past accompanied the day. He had been thinking about what was said, what had happened. He regretted not realizing sooner. He had acted without thought, so consumed by his own black sea of turbulent emotions, he lost track of the lighthouse. Yvette. His precious princess. He used to fight to protect those who needed it. He still does, but now he has a more specific reason to. He had just lost sight of that.

She was right, he had gotten so used to being on his own. So used facing his own repercussions, not affecting anyone else. He had to get used to having a family again. To being a father like he once was.

"Sherlock!" Yvette woke with a start sitting up too quickly. The world spun and she found herself laying back down. The Doctor laid his grandson down in his bassinet and quickly rushed over to her. Her fever was gone and her sinuses had cleared. She would be back to normal with in the day. Her body just needed to rest.

"You're alright dear if you need to sit up, do it slowly."

"Father I-"

"It's alright. I'm here." He helped her sit up so he could face her properly. "The doctor is here."

Yvette smirked, "You're no doctor."

"Yes I am!" He said indignantly.

"Funny but I remember. You're an artist and a teacher."

"Yes well. Not any more."

Yvette reached out and turned his head to face her. "You can change your name all you want. You can never stop being who you are."

"You're quite right, and right now I'm a doctor. Now look up." He shined Sherlock's pen flashlight across her eyes. "You're just about recovered. Just rest some more."

"Father?"

"Always will be. I'm sorry I lost track of what was important. You're so capable on your own, I realize now, you never really had a chance to just be a child. My child. I never got a chance to be your father."

"I-"

"I'll make it up to you. I'll be more involved. Not just in your life but Noctis too." He knelt at her bed side and held her hands in his. They had regained their warmth, her cheeks had regained their rosy color. Her hopeful eyes stared into his. They were so full of life, it was hard to believe she too had once been so lost in the void of despair.

"You'll be more careful?"

"Promise."

"I love you dad."

"I love you too princess."


	10. McGee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

"Hello Agent McGee." Tim spun around quickly gun drawn and ready. "A wee jumpy are we?"

"Don't move!" He stood his ground. Behind him lay the mutilated corpse of a young woman. He received a call from his neighbor about a scream she had heard in the alley. "Federal Agent! Raise your hands above your head! Now!"

"Oh. Very good." The sweet sounds British voice echoed against the alleys brick walls emanating from a tall black silhouette. It was low, sultry and almost playful. The light was reflecting gold off her eyes in an ominous nature. "Very powerful. I'm afraid however, that you are still in very real danger. I didn't quite finish with her."

"She's dead! What else were you gonna do?!"

"She's not dead, and I was going to cut off her head. So that she will be dead. Only way to kill a vampire."

"Enough! Get down on the ground now!"

"Behiiiind yoouu" the voice sang as it moved around, the black shadow slinked back into the darkness. Tim turned 180 to find the blond woman standing and staring at him with bright red lifeless eyes. She bared her teeth and snarled revealing long sharp rows of teeth. She made to lunge at Tim, who sidestepped away from her snatch. "Careful. They're remarkably fast you know."

"Ma'am! I am a Federal Agent! I am here to help you!"

"Oh there's no sense reasoning with them once they're like this. It's either kill or be killed. Which one is it going to be Agent McGee?"  
The strangers voice rang somewhere above him. The blond raised her hand to slash at Tim with long sharp claws. McGee jump aside again barely moving aside in time. "Tick Tock Tick Tock. You might not be fast enough next time Timothy." The voice echoed of the walls. The feral woman snarled once more. Clearly agitated that she was unable to hit him. She ran right for him, teeth bared and claws aiming for his throat. Tim fired two bullets into her chest slowing her but not stopping her. She continued running towards him she grabbed his arms and made to bite his neck. Tim fought her off and strained against her strength. Something dropped down behind her, he saw an arm reach around the woman's neck and slice clean through. He watch as the blood red eyes rolled back into her head. The face muscles relaxed and dropped down as the head rolled of the neck. Thick black blood poured and spouted onto McGee's front. He was drenched in the putrid liquid. Panting and coming off the adrenaline high he looked at his savior.

She stood tall and straight. In either hand a long delicate golden, single edged sword, both of which were drenched in black blood. She herself was dressed in a long gown going down passed her feet. She stepped further out of the shadows, dropping her blades as she walked, they dissipated into nothing. "Are you hurt?" She cocked her head to the side, voice still echoing playfully. "I hadn't meant for her to get so close. That was my mistake."

"What? What... what just... I...."

"Yes it's a lot. I know. Long story short?" McGee nodded staring into the woman's bright gold eyes. As she moved closer to him her eyes faded and sank into an abyssal blue. There was so much soul in her eyes Tim was so captivated by them, he almost didn't notice her dress mist into a cloud of blue and gold around her. She stepped out of the mist dressed in jeans, boots, and a long coat. "Vampire. She was brave enough to hunt in the city, it's a calculated risk. The prey could be reported missing. The predator could be caught in the act. Unfortunately I was too late. Young Ms. Rachel there..." she nodded to the woman beheaded at Tims feet, "... she unfortunately was turned just two days ago. I was busy working another case, paid too much attention on catching my culprit for that, I completely forgot about her. I had come to offer her an antidote, an attempt at making her life better. However she chose this dark path instead."

"Wait vampire?! You don't honestly expect me to believe that?!"

"After what you went through you honestly expect me to believe that you don't believe?" She gave Tim an incredulous snort. "That blood is black. Why?"

"Well.. it-it's-"

"It's lost all oxygen. How could blood loose all oxygen?"

"Not circul-"

"Not circulating yes. Why, if she was a healthy young woman 'alive' mere minutes ago would her blood look like it hadn't moved in days?"

"I don't kn-"

"Because she's been quote-unquote dead. Her heart stopped beating two days ago. Her teeth. She had two rows of tears how could that be?"

"I-"

"Timothy there are a lot of things in the world that go bump in the night. Why is it not safe to assume that there are those who bump back?" She snapped her fingers and the woman's body caught fire. The Flames burst up scaring McGee into turning around in his surprise. "Be a bit more careful around the supernatural Agent. I would also suggest leaving. You have two minutes to get rid of everything on your own. Or would you like to come with me?"

"I can't. They'll find her body and -"

"No they won't. Vampires burn very quickly and conveniently into indiscernible dust. You how ever are drenched in blood. Make your choice."

"How can I get rid of this?" Tim was beginning to visibly panic.

"It's settled you're coming with me." The woman stepped forward and grabbed McGee's arm. He felt an intense pressure all around his body and momentarily couldn't breathe. He felt the floor leave beneath his feet. Just as the pressure became almost too much to handle he felt the world right itself. Air returned to his lungs and the pressure disappeared. "It's ok. It's not for everyone."

"Mama!" Tims vision returned as a little boy with whisky black hair came running up to the mystery woman. The suns morning rays shined bright through the windows on the far wall. He took in his surroundings and realized he was in someone's home.

"Mrs. Hudson, you wouldn't happen to have a spare suit? I believe our guest here is more around Hubert's size than Sherlocks."

"Of course dearie. I see he's encountered something gruesome." Tim watch an older red haired woman march out the door.

"Vampire!" The child hesitantly pointed at the blood on the Agent.

"Yes Noct."

The voices were too much. The sudden change in scenery and the bright lights threw him in a daze. He still hadn't recovered from the pressure he had felt.

"No no. I'll not have you passing out on my carpet covered in blood."

"Who are you?"

"Meredith Holmes." The older woman came in again with a suit in arm handing it to Meredith. "Ah yes. Thank you Mrs. Hudson, tell Hubert I'll pay him back."

"Nonsense. He's a cheating bastard. He can keep it." Mrs. Hudson waved away the suggestion and walked back out the door. Meredith sat the child down on the sofa and walked over to McGee. His vision had corrected itself he could see her clearly in the light of day. She wore a long asymmetrical coat that fit her slim athletic figure perfectly. Her long black hair fell past her mid back and framed her slender features. Her blue eyes had changed to a baby blue. Bright and fierce yet as easy to get lost in their vastness. Her olive skin reflected the light of the sun giving her a warm and welcoming glow. She was beaut-

"Wait did you say Holmes. Like the Holmes?"

"Yes. I take it you've heard of my husband."

"Actually yeah! I'm a huge fan! Does he really smoke a pipe?"

"No. He smoked cigarettes but that was before we met. He's stopped since." She gestured at a door behind him. "Now if you're quite done ogling me, the door there is the guest bathroom. Go. Shower and change please I'll be needing to burn your clothes. You're shoes are fine remarkably but everything else must burn."

"Wait wh-"

"Go. Now." She turned him around and pushed him down the short hall. "Mind the step. The sooner you're cleaned up the sooner you can go back." She turned and headed back towards the little boy.

__________________________________________________

"DiNozzo."

"Yeah boss."

"Where's McGee?"

"Not sure boss he um took his stuff and bolted like a bat outta hell." Tony's voice toyed somewhere between playful and serious.

"Ziva. You heard from him?"

"No. I have called him multiple times but he is not answering my calls."

"Tony did he say anything to you when he left."

"No." Tony grew serious at the tone of Gibbs' voice. "He just said he'd be right back."

"When?"

"Three hours ago boss." Tony walked closer to Gibbs. "You think something's wrong?"

Gibbs dialed McGees number on his speaker phone as he began searching around his desk.

_Hello Jethro._

Tony's eyes snapped over to the speaker phone at the sound of a British woman's voice. He turned to Ziva mouthing his concern.

"When I call my Agents I typically expect them to answer."

_*chuckle* Well you're agent is in the shower. Had a run in with something rather unpleasant. Let him borrow my shower and a change of clothes._

"You makin' a habit of opening your door to agents in need or taking them with you?"

_You would know wouldn't you Jethro. *Chuckle* You'll have you're agent back soon. Tell your team to gear up. I believe you'll be receiving a call soon._

~ _ **Click**_ ~

"Boss. I don't buy it."

"You don't buy what DiNozzo?!" Gibbbs picked up his phone again as it began to ring.

"McGee with a gir-"

"Gear up." Gibbs ignored his statement and stood throwing the keys at Ziva. "Got a break in at a home in Norfolk."

"Since when do we investigate break in's Gibbs?"

"Since they started leaving bodies in the house."

______________________________________________

"Where were you McGee..."

"I was...."

"DiNozzo!"

"Sketches coming right up boss!" He turned back to McGee, "This isn't over." He walked into the house, gear in hand.

McGee breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what to tell them. "You alright Tim?" Gibbs' gruff voice surprised him.

"Yeah boss I just- I'm just a little off balance from the uh-"

"Her method of travel wasn't ever my favorite either, but it's faster than flying."

"It's crazy what she can do boss. She can literally-"

"I know what she's capable of Tim. Trust me. I know." He sipped from his coffee as he accompanied Dr. Mallard to the crime scene.

 


	11. Start Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit work and all characters belong to tier respective copyright holders.

— _I want you to really understand why I did what I di—_

*paper crumbles*

— _Meredith, please, I just want to talk to you. I need to hear from you. I'm sorry for every_ —

*paper crumples*

— _You're my everything and I am so utterly lost without you. I did it to protect you. I did it to take keep you safe from the hell that follows us, that follows me. I didn't want you getting hurt because of me._

_For just a brief while I was happy. You were at my side. You would laugh at things I said. You'd rest your head against me when we camped out, and watch the stars. I wish I hadn't thrown that away. I wish I hadn't pushed you to hate me. Please Meredith, please understand that I only did it with your best interest at heart. I know it was wrong but in the moment I didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I know you want nothing to do with me. I'm sure you've made a life some where else. But if you find it possible to forgive me._

_If not then at least come see them. Come see Dean and Cas, they miss you. They got their thing sorted and are together now. I see them so happy everyday and it hurts to think that I almost had something like that. I was an idiot and pushed you away. With no explanation. No reason. I regret that night. I've regretted it ever since the moment you took off. Please. Please just come see Cas and Dean at least. Don't let my terrible decision affect them._

_Sam_

Sam signed and folded the letter, setting it aside. He didn't know if he wanted Cas to try and find her. Was it selfish? Was it fair? He didn't know. He couldn't. He gathered the paper balls he had tossed aside and threw them all into the bin. He heard a light knock on the door.

"Sam." Cas' gruff voice pulled his attention to the letter on the desk. He didn't know if he was ready to send it.

"I don't know Cas. I don't know if I should."

"Then don't. No one is making you do this."

"You can't even find her, what would be the point."

"I can't find her. No, but I can find her belongings. She owns many homes throughout the U.K. I could leave it in her most recent location." Cas walked up to the desk

"I still don't think it's right."

"What does you're heart tell you?"

"To do it."

"Then just fucking give him the letter Sammy." Dean appeared at the door, arms crossed and face stern. "This is why it never went anywhere. You kept dancing around your feelings not wanting to ruin anything and now you ain't got anything left. So just man up. And do something."

"Fine." Sam grabbed his letter and shoved it into an envelope. He quickly wrote her name on the front and handed it to Cas. They were right. Maybe it could be a foot in the door. Maybe she could come back into their lives.

***************************************

2 Years Later

  
********************************************

"SAMUEL WINCHESTER!" The voice rang loud through the bunker hallway waking everyone in a start. "LIBRARY! NOW!"

Sam grabbed his gun and ran. Although he recognized the voice he new better than to run in blind. He hadn't heard from her since her wedding six months ago. He knew she was still distant from him. It would take time to heal the wound he left her. He couldn't imagine what she must have seen that night. Every possible reality all at once. She watched him reject her in every way he imagined and more. As he ran down the stairs he thought of her words to him that night.

_"... you even went as far as to threaten to slap me in one..."_

_"At first I thought it was love, and I was hopeful. My mistake."_

He turned the corner at the door, gun pointed straight. His face paled. Meredith stood with her back to him at the desk with her wings fully stretched as they crowded the room. They gleamed, softly lighting the room. Then he saw what she held in her hand. _That stupid letter. That stupid fucking letter._ He forgot about it completely. "I was visiting one of my homes in West Wickham when I came across this...What. The bloody hell. Is this." The demand slithered through her teeth as she held up the letter, she couldn't even look at him. Sam could feel the anger seething in every word.

"Wings I-"

"Don't. Don't call me that. You've lost that right." Static charges started crackling and snapping around her.

"Meredith. I swear. I wrote that to you ages ago. Before I knew about you and Sherlock. Before I ..."

"Before what Sam? Before you realized your little sentences couldn't bring me running back?" She finally turned to face him. Her eyes immediately captivating him. The fierce electric blue constantly fighting the gold. She was furious. She was still beautiful when she was angry, it was enhanced with the glow she had around her. "Sam. I'm not upset that you wrote to me. I'm upset you didn't have the balls to say to my face. I'm upset about its contents."

"What do yo-"

"YOU TRIED TO GUILT ME INTO COMING BACK BY USING THEM!" Meredith pointed at the door gesturing at both Cas and Dean, who were watching silently. "Why?"

"Because I just wanted to see you. I hoped that if I just got you in the same room you'd want to talk to me!" Sam's anger started bubbling, she was at fault too why didn't she see that! "You flew off and didn't come back. I would've explained it all to you if you had just given me a chance. But you stayed away! You just started over."

"I DONT DIE! THATS WHAT I DO."

"WELL ITS NOT FAIR TO ANYONE ELSE! YOU'RE BEING SELFISH. YOU DIDNT GIVE ANYONE CLOSURE!"

"You have the audacity to be mad at me for not giving YOU closure."

"I-"

"Samuel rethink your sentence very.... very carefully." Her words were venomous.

"What I did was wrong. It was beyond fucked up. I shouldn't have just rejected you like that. I shouldn't have been fooled by Crowley but I was. I was played, but you left. You didn't ask for an explanation. I barely held myself together that night. Had you asked I would've fallen apart. Just melted for you. Said anything explained everything." Sam looked up from his hands. He looked so broken and lost. Tears streaked his face. This tall giant of a man sat there in shambles.

_He's right you know._

_As am I._

_ There's no denying that Yvette, but perhaps in your search for justification, you took it too far. And I mean that quite literally. _

_How so._

_ I shouldn't have to explain it. You already know that answer. In the end it was for the better. You met Sherlock and are now expecting. To Sam however, there is still such a wide array of 'what if's'. You found you're future. He's still tied to one he almost had. _

"You're still in love with me aren't you?" Meredith stood perfectly still. Her wings began to close around her. Sam stared at the ground. He was. He just couldn't say it out loud. He couldn't bring himself to do it. "You have to."

"What?"

"You have to say it."

"Why?!" Sam was starting to get angry again, why should he have to admit anything.

"That's why. You're angry. All the time. You're holding something in, a proclamation so profound it starts to tear you apart from within."

"What are you saying?"

"Are you daft?! I'm saying that the last two times you actually said anything, and decided on anything, you pushed me further and further away. This letter didn't make me fall for you again, but it's helped me understand where you are. So speak it. Say the words you wish you would have said near three years ago on that cliff side!"

"Mered-" He felt a tightness in his chest and was finding it difficult to breath.

"Say it!"

"No-"

"SAY IT!"

"I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" Sam shouted back at her. He felt relief. He was scared, vulnerable but he could breathe again. An invisible weight came off his shoulders. He said it, and now found himself unable to stop. "I'm... I'm still in love with you. I haven't been able to move on. I've tried. I've seen other girls but... it's not the same. It doesn't feel the same. There are times, days even. When I feel I can... move on but then I remember. What I did to you, who I drove you to. Now you're in love too but just... not... with me." Sam finally looked up to fully meet Meredith's eyes. The static charges that were firing up around her went away. Her expression softened and her eyes grew a pale blue. Her anger dissipated with his venting.

"Was that so hard Sammy?"

_Sammy... Sammy.... Sammy...._ That's all he heard in that moment. She called him Sammy....

"Don't get too carried away." She started to walk towards him. Her shoes clicking on the hard concrete floors. She threw the letter into the fire and continued towards him. "You understand that I can not reciprocate you're feelings. You said it yourself. I'm in love with someone else, but you let loose Sam. You said what you should have said that night. Now it's my turn." She sat on a sofa near where he stood. Taking a pillow and placing it just under her lower back, she got comfortable, making her baby bump far more pronounced. "Dean, Cas you can join us too if you wish."

"That's all good. We'll be upstairs. Want something?"

"No Dean I'm alright."

"Does Peanut want something?"

"Well I suppose a glass of juice wouldn't hurt." She grinned up at the man. "Thank you love."

"No probs Wings. Good to have you back."

As Dean turned and left with Cas in tow, Meredith patted the seat next to her. "Sam, please." All during the exchange Sam just stared at her bump. A child. Something he could never have.

"You can one day."

"What?"

"Honestly you should know by now that I can hear your thoughts. You think, too loudly." Dean came back in with the glass. "Thank you Dean."

"Holler if ya need anything!"

"Sam. Please sit down. It's a baby bump not a bomb." Reluctantly the man in question sat where she was patting. She grabbed his hand and placed it lightly on the side of the bump. "There's been a lot of kicking lately in this ar- ooh there it goes." Sam retracted his hand at the feeling. "It'll take time for you to detach from your feelings for me. I'm sure seeing me at the wedding and even now isn't helping your thoughts of 'What if' and 'Could have been'." Sam looked away. She was right. It was going to be hard to move on but perhaps finally admitting to how he felt was the first step.

"You said it was your turn."

"All in good time." She smiled at him, her signature sideways smirk. "Sam, you must understand, in my state of 'All Seeing' I saw the outcome of every thought that had gone through your head. Every word you said every choice you made. All completely different."

"That's not what I inte-"

"I know. I was supposed to only be exposed to one of those. There were a few where you told me the truth. Where you professed your feelings for me, there were some where you lied, others where you remained silent."

"...but..."

Meredith took a deep breath, "but..." she smiled up at him from the spot in the carpet that she had been staring at. "But in every single out come. Every. Single. One... I left anyway." Sam sat back down next to her confusion painted plainly on his face

"Why?"

"Because for whatever reason Sam. We weren't meant to be." She reached out and took his hand in hers. She patted it gently as she smiled at him. "I lied to you on that cliff side. I knew all along why you wanted to push me away. At the time I was hurt by all the things that went through your mind. The names, the intent to hit, the blame you would have laid on me. Sam. All I saw was pain. Whether it happened then or later down the road. All I saw was the end of a relationship, with no way to pick up the pieces. No way to salvage what was left."

"That wasn't just your choice to make. You left without telling me this. I would have understood."

"Not based on what I saw Sam. Understand that I made this decision based on what I saw in that state. Time isn't linear. It moves and shifts based on the decisions we make. How we craft our future is ever changing. If I hadn't wanted to fetch something from my home in West Wickham as opposed to the one in Brighton, I wouldn't have found your letter. If you had had one more beer at the bar today I would have arrived at an empty house. Each little decision weighs heavily on the outcome of our lives. We both made a decision that night. You decided to give in to a fools threat. I decided to leave as I would have eventually done."

"Had you given me a chance. Things might have been different for me!" Sam stood from the couch. How could she be so selfish. "I wouldn't have been left with the guilt, wondering if I had done things differently if we could have been together!"

"Sam-"

"No! You left me to torture myself. For three years I've done nothing but wonder what could have been! At you're wedding I sat and wondered if that could have been me instead! ALL I THINK ABOUT IS WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN! IF YOU WOULD HAVE MOVED IN HERE, IF YOU WOULD HAVE STAYED, IF THAT CHILD WOULD HAVE BEEN MINE! WHAT OUR LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN. YOU LEFT ME TO GUILT MYSELF INTO MY OWN HELL!" Sam found himself in front of the fireplace fists clenched and breathing hard. He rarely raised his voice but today he's done it twice. He hated it.

"I'm no more at fault than you are. You drove me away. In every outcome you drove me away. I simply left before I gave you that chance." Meredith stood from her seat. "I still believe we can be friends. You've apologized for what you did, now it's my turn. I'm sorry. You're right. It was selfish of me, it was cruel, but in the end you've done no better. You've admitted your feelings for me now I suggest you move on. This child will need more uncles beside Mycroft and John." She walked over to the desk and scribbled something down on a piece of paper, "In case you need anything. Let me know, for now I'll take my leave." With that Meredith walked out the door and began heading upstairs.

Sam walked over to the desk and picked up the note she had left, he heard muffled voices giving their goodbyes just above him.

_Sam, I loved you then too, but it never would have worked. I'm sorry I stole that from you.  
My number is already in your cell._

_-Wings_

  
Sam smiled. He still felt bothered. He was still mad, and the pain in his heart was still there, like as if it had an aching hole right in the middle of it. But it was fine. He'd be able to get over it now. It'll take some time but he can't wait to be friends again. He can't wait to start over.


	12. Winchesters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit work. All characters belong to their respective copyright holders.

"Sammy!" Dean ran towards the audible struggle by the car.

"You have the right to remain silent because everything you say is going to be held against you." DiNozzo wrapped Sam's arm around and slammed him against the car. "You also have the the right to an attorney so he can tell you how you weren't hugged enough as a child."

"DiNozzo! What are you doing?" Gibbs came up behind his agent. "Let him go!"

"Boss he-"

"IBSD! Let my partner go!" Dean ran up to the car flashing a gold badge.

"Who the hell is IBSD?" Tony looked up at Gibbs.

"Someone who you should let go DiNozzo. They didn't do this." Gibbs walked passed the two agents toward Dean. "Heya Dean was it?"

"Ye-yeah." Dean put his badge away and reached out to shake the Marines hand.

"Peaches' wedding." Gibbs nodded addressing the young mans confusion. "I think you two call her Wings?"

"Funny how she hates nicknames and yet that's all she has." Sam stood fully erect after DiNozzo removed his cuffs. "Thanks man."

"Yea-sorry about... that...." Tony looked up and saw the large moose of a man he had tackled to the car. "Were you always that tall? Cuz when I uh, put you up against the car you weren't that tall-"

"I thought you said 'I like them tall' Tony." Tony jumped at the sound of the woman's voice. As they started bickering Sam looked the woman over, stunned he didn't hear her coming. She was shorter in stature but her stances suggest high levels of training, kinda like-

"Hi, I'm Sam. IBSD." He reached out and shook both the agents hands. "And Gibbs right?" Sam turned to his brother and the other NCIS agent.

"Yeah, and I'd like to know why you're here. Ziver, Tony, stay here by the car if Ducky shows up tell him we're waiting until I get the OK from these two to take over!" Gibbs walked into the woods waving at Sam and Dean to follow suit.

"Who the hell is IBSD?!"

_________________________________________

"How'd you find out about the body?" Gibbs climbed down the steep hill through the woods.

"Local LEO's flagged this case a suspicious. Mycroft called us to make sure it wasn't something in our jurisdiction." Dean arrived to the body first.

"Looks like she's seen a ghost."

"Yeah Dean, that's why Mycroft called us." Sam stood at the woman's feet. Searching her face for any answer as to what she may have seen. Her face was contorted in utter horror. As if the fear alone was what had killed her. "You say this is the third one?" Sam turned to Gibbs in hope of some sign that this was human and not their field. NCIS was already heavily involved in the case.

"Yeah all three have had the same face. No defensive wounds, no marks or cuts, bruising or shots. Cause of death is hyperactive tachycardia. All three are marines with no sign of heart problems in their records or family. Our ME is convinced they were scared to death."

"Well sounds about right. Sammy and I will work side by side with NCIS, until we can determine if the culprit is human or not."

Gibbs nodded and whistled to signal his team.

____________________________________________

"You know my lady. The cockatrice was first described in its current form in the late fourteenth century. Yes. It's said that the cockatrice was the product of an egg laid by a male chicken and incubated by a toad."

"What did they say it looked like doctor?" Jimmy weighed the left lung carefully.

"How did they say you kill it is a better question. " Gibbs walked in with two other agents in tow.

"Jethro, you never seemed like the kind to delve into the supernatural." Ducky gave him a smirk. "I don't believe I know who you two are."

"Sam."

"Dean."

"Dr. Donald Mallard but please call me Ducky." Ducky handed two vials to his assistant and signed it off. "Mr. Palmer, would you do me the favor of taking this up to Abigail." The doors hissed with Palmers departure. "Now as for the victim. It's the same issue as before. All of them had no signs of heart defects, or conditions."

"Did the time of death seem odd when compared to the rigor mortis?" Sam looked up from the file and met the doctors puzzled face.

"You know I did find it odd. Rigor set in on this young man far sooner than it should have." Ducky opened a slab and slid out the first victim. "He was still stiff and solid, and his skin ice cold. That would put the time of death around 24 hours prior to when we found him. But the liver prob suggests that he was found just hours after his death."

"How many would you say?" Dean stayed back by the door. Never like autopsies.

"Probably two to four at the most. It's almost as if all his blood rushed to his core."

"Maybe he really was scared to death." Sam gave Gibbs a look. "You know doctor. Putting business aside I really am interested in what you were talking about before we came in." Sam flashed him his prize winning smile. "I'm a sucker for the supernatural."

"Ah yes my boy well I have a body to finish. If you're not busy we can talk about it later, I should be finished up in about two hours." Ducky smiled up at the young lad. "Always happy to share stories, so long as I breathe I will talk. Now I'm sure Ms. Sciuto has something for you."

________________________________________________

"I'm telling you guys there is nothing wrong with them."

"Why so trusting McGoodshoes? Know something we don't?"

"No Tony I don't. I don't know anything."

"Not what I wanted to hear McGee." Gibbs rounded the corner of the bull pen "Talk to me."

"Lieutenant Lauren Dunt. No criminal record and was 'a piller to the community and a joy to be around' as her neighbors said." Tony clicked the controller bringing up images on the plasma.

"Bank records show no red flags." Ziva came up and took the remote from DiNozzo, bringing up bank records on the screen. "No suspicious withdrawals or deposits. Regular salary for a Lieutenant."

"Is there anyone all three have spoken too in the last month?" Sam's voice caused all three agents to turn around. "I mean it's a long shot but a shot none the less. Try cross searching phone records for a number all three have called."

"Um." Tim looked over at Gibbs.

"Go on Tim."

"Right boss." McGee began typing away as screens whipped across the plasma. "I got nothing boss. None of these numbers match. However all three did dial a number numerous times but they're not the same one."

"So it could have been anyone they know." DiNozzo looked away from the screen and started pacing. He was getting annoyed.

"Wait. Wait. Pull up their phone records for the past three weeks."

*click, click*

"Now put 'em side by side."

*click, click*

"What is it Dean?" Sam watched his brother carefully as he approached the plasma.

"McGee might be on to something. Highlight those repeating numbers."

*click, click*

"They're the same number just a digit off. This one is a 4 at the end, then a 3, and a 2." Dean pointed at each number as he read them out.

"McGee find out who they belong too."

"On it Boss." After a few seconds of searching he brought it up to the screen, taking the remote from Ziva. "They belong to Mark Gilger, owner of 'Gilger's Home of Exotic Pets.'"

"Ziva, DiNozzo, go."

"On it boss."

"I think Dean and I should go. Or at least one of us." Sam gave Gibbs a knowing look. "Might be able to pick up something you guys don't usually look for."

"True. DiNozzo go with Dean."

"Boss?"

"Go!"

Ziva set her things down by her desk, obviously annoyed. "It's alright Ziva. You can help me with Abby, she asked me to go see her but I've heard she's not too keen with new people."

"No she isn't. Who exactly is IBSD?"

"Need to know. Isn't that right Mr. Winchester?" A deep voice made its appearance behind him. Sam turned around to face Director Vance.

"Afternoon Director." Sam reached out and shook Leon's hand with a friendly smile. "I'm sorry we didn't pop by upon our arrival."

"'Pop by' and 'upon arrival' huh?" Vance laughed lightly. "Where did she take you this time?"

"Honestly you might not believe it." Sam chuckled back.

"Try me. No worries Ziva, I'll take him down to Abby. If in the mean time you and McGee could pull the background for Mr. Gilger. I'd love to hear all of it before Dean and DiNozzo arrive." Vance gestured Sam the way down to Abby's lab.   
________________________________________________

"So."

"Yeah?"

"You drive an Impala?"

"It's a classic man."

"I mean there's no denying that!" DiNozzo laughed as he opened the passenger door and slid in next to Dean. "Wow! Haven't ridden in one of these in ages!"

"It's my baby."

"Hardly a federal car though."

"Eeeeh I managed to pull some strings." Dean started up the car and pulled out of NCIS parking garage.

"Hmmm. So who exactly is IBS-"

"If Boss-man Gibbs hasn't told ya then I can't."

Heat of the moment, Heat of the mom-

"This is Dean- oh hey Cas..... no I haven't, did you hear from her?...... sounds like him..... he's his fathers son...."

DiNozzo listened quietly while he watch the road silently gesturing directions for Dean to follow. Dean checked his watch, as he moved his wrist Tony caught a glimpse of a wedding band. He would have to break the news to Linda at the reception desk. Not that that ever stopped the woman before.

"Yeah Cas I know.... well it's not the first time we had to baby sit cuz he decided to disappear.... no Cas now that you ask, I'm not a fan of it... I'm on a case right now I won't be able to get home tonight.... well I could but I can't..... no I don't need help Sam's back.... yeah he'll come back to the bunker too...."

Bunker? Tony glanced curiously at the man at his side.

"Is his room clean?..... I figured just wanted to check..... I know I know..... I'm always careful.... even if I did I don't think they'd keep me.... Alright... ok.... look I got to go.... love you too.... bye Cas." Dean hung up right as they pulled up to the store. "Sorry 'bout that. You know how that goes yeah?"

"Oh yeah, wife concerned about the perils of the job?"

"Well no. Husband wondering if I'm ever gonna stay home for more than a day." Dean flashed a mildly stunned DiNozzo a smile as he walked into the pet store. That's reeeeally going to break Linda's heart.

_________________________________________________

“You’re Sam?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.” The goth woman turned back to her screen, Sam grinned and glanced back at the Director. He knew she was notorious for making people work for her friendship. He respected that. It’s a matter of gaining trust.

“Ms. Sciuto-“

“Yes?” She turned back around, crossing her arms she gave San a pointed glare. “I’m not a fan of you.”

“I’m sure you’re not.”

“Really I- wait...”

Sam chuckled lightly, “You need to gain equal amounts of mutual respect prior to fully and willingly cooperate. I hope though, that you’d be able to set that aside just this once, so that i can find out if this falls under my jurisdiction. If not I’ll be out of your hair.”

Abby stared at the giant man. “Fine.”

________________________________________________

  
** Two Days Later **

________________________________________________

“Well I’m glad we didn’t have to take over.” Dean strapped his gun in its holster again. He always found it odd to have to go through the xRay on the way out.

“Yeah, I seriously had my money on basilisk.” Sam grabbed the last of his things. “Who’d of thought a guy would actually rearrange someone’s face after poisoning them to death.”

“Right?”

As the Brothers made their way out of the NCIS building and got in their car, they were confronted by a familiar face in the rear view mirror.

“Hello boys, I have another for you.”

“Anthea.... can you please tell Mycroft..... like seriously just one freakin day. I would like to go home sometime this month.” Dean his his face in his hands.


End file.
